SEVEN  YEARS  IN  CEYLON. 


A    IIINOr   WOMAN. 


i@ 


^eve\i   ^ca^c^ 


inimilll ttiifiiiuiMnmjf^ 


Stories  of  Mission  Life 


141  on 


MARY  AND  MARGARET  W.  LEITCH 

FOR    ELEVEN   YEARS    MISSIONARIES   OF    THE    AMERICAN    BOARD  OF 
COMMISSIONERS  FOR   FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


WITH  PORTRAITS  AND  MANY  ILLUSTRATIONS 


TO 


OUR  TWO    DEAR   BROTHERS, 

WHO,  WITH    UNFAILING    KINDNESS, 

HAVE   CHEERED    AND    SUSTAINED    CS    IN    ALL    WE    HAVE    ATTEMPTED   TO   DO 

FOR   THE    FOREIGN    FIELD^ 

Mc  affectionately  t)eMcate  tbi^  boof?. 


COPYRIGHT,  1890. 
AJVIERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY. 


Xttfro6ucfion. 


IND  friends  have  often  asked  us 
why,    at     the     many    meetings 

which  we  have  addressed  in  behalf  of  the  work  of  the 
Jaffna  College  in  Ceylon,  and  the  General  Medical 
Mission  about  to  be  inaugurated  in  connection  with 
it,  we  have  not  told  more  about  the  specific  work  in 
which  we  ourselves  were  engaged  during  the  seven 
years  which  we  spent  in  Ceylon  as  missionaries. 

Our  reply  has  been  that,  as  we  came  to  Great 
Britain  with  the  special  object  of  securing  ^30,000  for 
this  College  and  Medical  Mission,  the  time  at  our 
meetings  has  usually  been  consumed  in  presenting 
the  claims  of  these  special  causes. 

But  while  this  was  so,  we  have  often  wished  that 
we  had  a  compilation  of  some  of  the  letters  written  from  Ceylon  at  different 
times,  giving  our  actual  every-day  experiences,  to  present  to  such  kind 
friends. 

Then  again  young  ladies  have  often  said  to  us,  "  Now  please  tell  us  about 
your  own  labours  in  Ceylon,  and  just  what  work  we  women  can  do  in  the 
foreign  field."  We  have  often  felt  an  unspeakable  longing,  as  we  have  looked 
into  the  bright,  intelligent  faces  of  the  young  ladies  of  this  favoured  land, 
that  they  might  know  more  fully  about  the  great  opportunities  of  the  present 
day  for  giving  the  Gospel  to  their  sisters  in  heathendom.  We  believe  that 
Christ  is  calling  to  the  consecrated  Christian  young  women  of  to  day,  as  He 


G10380 


VI 


Introduction. 


has  perhaps  never  called  before,  for  the  breaking  of  alabaster  boxes  of  precious 
ointment  on  His  feet,  in  this  work  of  giving  His  message  to  those  who  are  in 
heathen  darkness. 

Love  will  count  no  gift  too  precious,  no  service  too  great.  Does  not 
Christ  sav  to  each  one  of  us  to-da\-  as  He  said  to  Peter,  ''  Lovest  thou  Me?" 
"  Feed  My  sheepr 

And  He  says  again,  "  Other  sheep  I  have  which  are  not  of  this  fold  ;  THEM 
ALSO  I  MUST  BRINGJ  and  they  shall  hear  My  voice,  and  there  shall  be  one 
fold  and  one  Shepherd." 

There  are  many  of  His  poor,  lost,  wandering  sheep  on  the  dark  mountains 
of  heathenism,  and  they  have  never  heard  of  the  good  Shepherd  or  of  the 
heavenly  fold.  Constrained  by  love,  shall  not  His  disciples  go  out  after  these 
lost  ones  with  the  prayer  in  their  hearts,  "  Let  my  WHOLE  LIFE  be  a  SEARCH 
for  them  "  f 

MARY  AND  MARGARET  W.  LEITCH. 


aBfc  of  ^o^tfcnfB. 


LHAFTER 

I.  Arrival  and  First   Impres- 
sions IN  Ceylon 
II.     Revival  Meetings 

III.  Two  LiiTLE  Pariahs 

IV.  First  Year's  Review 
V.     A       Visit       to       a 

Heathen  School  . 

VI.     A    Great    Heathen 

Fesiival 


i.iHf 


XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVHI. 

XIX. 


Hopeful  Signs    . 
Mu'ithuchafdy's  Money- Box 
The  Sivite  Preacher 
Little  Thank  am 
Second  Year's  Experience  .\t 
Heathen  Festival 
A  Brief  Visit  to  the  Pulney  Hills  . 
A  Contrast  ....•• 
Third    Year's    Experience    at    the   Gkeai 
Festival  ..... 

Letter  from  a  Christmas-Tree 

The  Week  of  Prayer 

Protection  in  Time  of  Danger  ... 
A  Christian  Wedding  ..... 
Persecution  and  Deliverance  .         .         ,         . 


i^-^,^  XI  I. 
XIII. 
XIV. 


THE  GRE.\T 


He.vthen 


I 

7 
I  i 
i6 


26 
35 


45 

48 

54 

5S 
61 

64 
67 

70 
73 


Vlll 


Tabic  of  Contents. 


XX.  A  Brief  Visit  to  Newera  Ellta 

XXI.  Itinerating  on  the  Islands       .... 

XXII.  Gnanamutthu 

XXI II.  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavour 

XXIV.  Precious  Pearl 

XXV.  Meenatchie,  the  Island  Girl  .... 

XXVI.  The  Liquor  Traffic,  a  Great  Foe  of  Missions 

XXVII.  Farewell  Address  from  the  Native  Christians,  and  Lyric 

XXVIII.  Miss    Eliza  Agnew  ;    or  One  Woman's  Work  in  the   Foreign 

Field  

XXIX.  TopsY  AND  the  Fakir  Woman    .... 

XXX.  Dasammah,  the  little  Heroine 

XXXI.  Jaffna  College 

XXXII.  Medical  Mission  Agency    .         .         .         .         o 

XXXIII.  Appendix;  Maria  Peabody 


PAGE 

77 
82 

87 
90 

94 
96 

lOI 

"3 

116 
123 
126 
129 

155 
168 


.■^^■:^P^?m^i^M-^^Z4i:^^^^^S^-- 


SEVEN  YEARS  IN  CEYLON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Arrival  and  First  Impressions  in  Ceylon. 

Udupitty,  Jaffna,  Ceylon,  Fed.  6//;,  iSSo. 
'1\  arrived  here  safely  from  Colombo  on  Jan.  14th.  As  we  neared  the  shore 
of  Jaffna  we  saw  several  handkerchiefs  waved  at  us  by  missionaries  who 
had  come  to  meet  us,  and  the  words  "  Welcome  home  ! "  came  over  the 
water.  We  had  supposed  we  were  among  strangers,  but  from  that 
morning  to  this  we  have  felt  that  vie  were  at  home  with  our  friends.  The  bandies 
were  waiting  to  take  us  to  the  mission-house  at  Udupitty,  which  is  to  be  our  home  for 
the  present.  It  seemed  strange  to  be  seated  in  a  carriage  before  the  horse  had  been 
attached  ;  but  we  saw  our  mistake  when  six  stout  coolies  (native  runners)  laid  hold  of 


Af/  Ode  of  Welcome. 


rhe  thills  of  the  band)-  and  started  off  at  a  rattling  pace,  which  they  kept  up  nearly  all 
the  way.  They  passed  over  the  sixteen  miles  between  Jaffna  town  and  Udupitty  in  a 
little  over  two  and  a  half  hours,  preferring  to  go  all  the  way  themselves  rather  than 
be  relieved  by  another  set  of  coolies,  because  they  wanted,  as  they  said,  to  take  the 
new  missionaries  home  themselves. 

When  we  were  within  a  mile  of  the  station,  one  of  the  coolies  was  despatched  to 
herald  our  arrival.  As  we  reached  the  mission  premises  we  found  the  children  of  the 
station  boys'  school  on  one  side  and  the  station  girls'  school  on  the  other,  dressed  in 
their  best  clothes,  and  the  missionaries  on  the  veranda  steps  ready  to  greet  us.  The 
veranda  entrance-door  and  sitting-room  had  been  adorned  by  the  native  Christians 
with  festoons  and  wreaths  of  flowers,  in  honour  of  our  coming.  The  native  pastor 
and  others  were  waiting  to  speak  to  us,  and,  in  true  Oriental  fashion,  the  girls  of  the 
Udupitty  Boarding-school,  twenty-five  in  number,  with  their  teachers,  had  prepared  a 
lyric  of  welcome.  Both  words  and  tune  were  original  with  them,  and  they  sang  it 
very  sweetly.  We  were  deeply  touched  by  this  so  unexpected  and  kind  a  reception. 
I  translate  the  lyric  here, 

CHORUS. 

"  Come,  lei  us  sing — welcome  ! 
Let  us  sing  rejoicingly — joy  !  hurrah  !  * 

SUB-CHORUS. 

"  Ye  united  members  of  the  church, 
The  girls  of  the  boarding-school, 
Come,"  etc. 

VERSES. 

"  May  the  new  missionaries  prosper. 
They  have  come,  with  warm  attachment, 
To  show  the  heavenly  way  to  the  multitudes  of  people,  by 

pouring 
In  their  ears  the  honey  of  the  teachings  of  the  Gospel. 

Joy  !  hurrah  ! 
Come,  let  us  sing — welcome,  etc. 

"  Tlial  the  knowledge  may  increase   and  the  darkness  be 
expelled, 
And  all  sing  hallelujah  to  the  almighty  Father, 
The  .Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.     Joy  !  hurrah  ! 
Come,  let  us  sing — welcome,  etc. 

"  Praise  the  Lord  for  ever  for  the  mercy  of  giving  them 
A  safe  arrival  in  JalTna,  passing  over  a  long  voyage.     Joy  1 

hurraii  ! 
Come,  let  us  sing — welcome,"  etc. 


lAMri.    GIKI.3. 


First  Sabbath  in  Udupitty.  3 

The  second  day  after  our  arrival  the  annual  business  meeting  of  the  mission  was  held 
at  Udupitty.  This  gave  us  an  opportunity  to  meet  the  other  missionaries  in  the  field. 
Among  them  were  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  W.  Howland,  who  came  out  in  1846  and  have 
grown  old  in  this  work.  They  have  been  called  by  some  here  a  second  Zacharias  and 
Elisabeth, who  walked  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless. 
There  was  also  present  Miss  Eliza  Agnew,  the  veteran  missionary,  who  has  been  here 
forty  years  without  going  home,  and  who  is  a  model  of  energy  and  decision.  The 
magnitude  of  the  work  carried  on  here  far  exceeds  our  expectations.  As  we  heard 
one  report  after  another,  reviewing  the  labours  of  the  year,  the  schools  supervised,  the 
training  of  native  catechists  and  teachers,  the  village  work,  the  baptisms,  and  the 
communicants,  the  house  visitations,  tent  meetings,  etc.,  etc.,  we  were  filled  with 
wonder,  and  could  only  praise  the  Lord  and  take  courage,  thanking  Him  that  we 
were  to  be  fellow-workers  with  such  a  band  of  noble  men  and  women. 

We  are  hard  at  work  upon  the  language,  with  a  native  Munshee.  Besides  our 
regular  lesson  in  the  grammar  and  reader,  we  are  learnmg  some  portions  of  Scripture 
and  hymns.  We  can  sing  already,  "  Come  to  Jesus,"  "  The  Sweet  By-and-By,"  and 
parts  of  other  hymns  in  Tamil.  We  think  in  a  week  or  two  we  shall  pronounce  with 
sufficient  correctness  to  be  able  to  join  in  the  congregational  singing. 

The  Hymn  "Come  to  Jesus,"  Sound  of  the  Tamil  words 

IN  Tamil.  in  English. 

Guj(3i-SiJ)6iJt)    Cj;''.  Yea-su-vayt  chare. 

1.  Qius^mexis-  Q&i — ^ekQp.  i.  Yea-su-vayt  chare — eun-day. 

2.  lSlLuitit  ^asrdoar — g)e3rC^.  2.  Meurd-par  une-ney — eun-day. 
o.   jt/esTL-i  s^iJeufTii — ^siirQp,  3.  An-pu  koor-var — eun-day. 

4.  /smtS!  tsunGpear — ^emQp\  4.   Num-pe  va-rane —  eun-day. 

5.  jiieoCeOPiiiriuiT  .' — ^Owscr.  ^.   Al-lc-lu-iuh  — a-men. 

The  first  Sabbath  we  were  here,  Mrs.  Howland  gave  me  the  care  of  the 
infant  Sunday-school  class.  They  come  from  the  chapel  to  my  veranda,  and  all  sit 
round  me  on  a  large  mat,  and  look  up  with  such  bright,  intelligent  faces,  that  already 
I  am  beginning  to  love  them  very  much.  They  number  sixty  little  girls,  all  under 
ten  years  of  age.  Perhaps  some  people  would  laugh  at  me  for  calling  them  pretty, 
and  say  something  about  beauty  unadorned ;  but  though  many  of  them  wear  only  a 


Tefit  Meetings. 


single  garment,  yet  their  eager  faces  and  attractive   quiet  ways  make  up   for  a  good 
many  deficiencies. 

About  forty  native  children  come  upon  my  veranda  every  afternoon  to  sew,  and  I 
talk  to  them,  through  an  interpreter,  and  teach  them  Bible  verses.  My  brother,  sister, 
and  I  have  gone  out  several  times  into  the  villages  with  the  native  helpers.  The 
natives  seem  glad  to  see  us,  and  ready  to  listen.  Some  of  them  say  they  do  not 
believe  in  idols,  and  would  become  Christians  if  it  were  not  that  they  would  lose  caste, 
and  be  persecuted  by  all  their  friends. 

Tne  missionaries  of  this  station,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  S.  W.  Rowland  and  Miss  Towns- 
end,  go  out  often  in  the  morning  and  in  the  cool  of  the  evening  to  hold  meetings 
in  the  different  villages.  They  have  mothers'  meetings  at  the  mission-house,  which  are 
well  attended  by  the  heathen  women.  Sometimes  they  go  out  with  the  tent,  remaining 
several  days  at  a  time  in  one  place,  and  thus  gain  access  to  those  who  could   not  be 

reached  in  any  other  way. 
A  few  days  ago  they  had 
the  tent  pitched  at  Thande- 
mannar.  In  the  afternoon 
the  girls  of  this  boarding- 
school  went  down  in  a  body 
to  sing,  as  the  natives  are 
very  fond  of  music,  and  can 
often  be  moved  by  Christian 
songs.  After  they  had  sung 
several  hymns,  as  there  were 
a  large  number  of  heathen 
women  and  children  pre- 
sent, Mrs.  Rowland  sug- 
gested that  each  girl  should 
take  one  or  two  women 
and  talk  with  them  for  a 
little  while.  They  received 
and  acted  upon  the  sugges- 
tion most  beautifully,  each 
girl  sitting  right  down  on  the  mats  by  the  side  of  the  one  she  was  going  to  talk  with, 
and  one  or  two  of  the  high-caste  girls  of  the  school  gathering  some  of  the  little  fisher- 
caste  children  around  them.  They  talked  very  earnestly,  and  when,  after  a  time,  the 
missionary  lady  changed  the  order  of  exercises,  they  came  to  her,  one  after  another, 


A  Day  at  Oodooville. 


5 


with  such  glowing  faces,  saying,  "Oh,  amnia!  I  did  have 
such  a  pleasant  time  with  the  Httle  children!"  or,  "Oh, 
nmma  !  the  woman  I  was  talking  with  promised  to  begin  to 
pray  to-night ;  and  oh  !  won't  we  pray  for  her  when  we  get 
home  !  Won't  we  all  meet  together  and  pray  for  these 
women  !  " 

A  few  days  after  our  arrival  we  had  the  pleasure  of 
spending  a  day  at  Oodooville,  seeing  Miss  Agnew  and 
visiting  the  boarding-school.  Here  also  they  had  prepared 
a  lyric  for  us.  We  listened  to  five  recitations,  and  we  were 
all  much  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  school.  New 
buildings  are  in  process  of  erection,  and  the  corner-stone  is 
to  be  laid  on  February  loth.  We  also  attended  the  annual 
examination  and  commencement  exercises  of  Jaffna  College. 
It  was  a  most  interesting  occasion.  All  the  examinations 
were  in  English,  and  considering  that  whatever  the  boys 
knew  concerning  the  sciences,  mathematics,  philosophy  and 

history,  had  been  learned  and  must  be  repeated  in  a  foreign  tongue,  the  boys  did  great 

credit  to  their  instructors. 

I  should  like  to  tell  you  of  the  commencement   exercises  of  the   Ijdupitty  Girls' 

Boarding-school,    and   of  the  monthly  missionary  meeting,  where   we   met  all   the 

missionaries  from  the  Wesleyan  and  Church  Missionary  Societies  as  well  as  our  own, 

but  I  am  writing  too  long  a  letter. 

This  is  harvest-time,  and  the  fields  are  full  of  reapers  and  gleaners.     The  work  is  all 

done  by  hand,  the  grain  carried  home  on  the  heads  of  men  and  women,  and  threshed 

or  trodden  out  by  cattle.     I  am  glad  that  our  first  impressions  of  the  country  should 

be  received  now,  after  the  rainy  season,  when  the  island  is  covered  with  verdure,  and 

looks  fruitful  and  inviting. 

1  close  with  the  following  letter  of  greeting  from  Miss  Agnew,  which  was  given  us 

soon  after  our  arrival  at  Jaffna  : — 


Mv  DEAR  Missionary  Sisters  : — With  a  warm  heart  and  inexpressible  delight  do  I 
give  you  Eliezer's  welcome, — "  Come  in,  thou  blessed  of  the  Lord." 

For  two  years  past  have  we  sent  the  Macedonian  cry,  "  Come  over  and  help  us." 
Though  I  was  so  anxious  for  two,  yet  my  stinted  faith  would  not  allow  me  to  revel 
in  the  anticipation  that  more  than  one  would  be  added  to  our  mission  circle. 

I  do  rejoice  that  our  heavenly  Father  has  sent  you  to  this  Eden  of  the  East,  and 


A  Letier  of  Greeting. 


that  you  are  allied  in  the  ties  of  nature,  and  that  you  have  a  brother  to  aid  and 
counsel  you.  This  society  may  prevent  loneliness  from  usurping  even  a  small 
corner  of  your  hearts.  Every  day  prayer  was  offered  for  your  safety  while  journeying 
on  the  sea  and  on  the  land. 

You  are  coming  to  a  goodly  country,  "  where  every  prospect  pleases  " — no  Anakims 
to  fear.  Your  necessary  weapons  will  be  the  living  coals  from  the  altar  of  the  Lord 
in  your  hearts  and  upon  your  lips,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  in  your  right  hands. 
Fear  not :  let  timidity  have  no  place :  press  forward  \  and  in  the  spirit  and  with  the 
anguage  of  the  chief  apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  say,  in  strong  faith,  "  I  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me."  Necessity  is  laid  upon  every  missionary  to 
inscribe  upon  his  breastplate,  '^  Look  unto  Jesus,"  and  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
disciples  of  John  the  Baptist,  who,  after  the  burial,  ''went  and  told  Jesus."  The 
blood-bought  mercy-seat  will  appear  to  you  a  more  precious  place  in  a  heathen  than 
in  a  Christian  land.  Deprived  of  so  many  of  your  spiritual  aids,  you  will  be  more 
inclined  to  enter  the  holy  of  holies,  where  Jesus  answers  prayer. 

I  hope  that  you  are  as  highly  favoured  as  Heman's  three  daughters,  who  could  sing 
in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  And  though  you  may  not  understand  how  to  strike  the 
cymbal,  or  make  melody  on  the  harp,  I  trust  you  can  handle  the  organ,  and  thus 
enhance  the  sweetness  of  our  music  whenever  we  frequent  the  gates  of  Zion. 

I  know  of  no  other  individual  in  any  mission  who  has,  like  myself,  remained  at  one 
station  forty  years.  In  relation  to  my  work,  in  spirit  I  know  no  change,  but  physically 
1  am  weary,  weary,  weary,  and  need,  as  Jesus  did,  to  "  turn  aside  and  rest  awhile." 

Yours,  affectionately, 

Eliza  AgneW; 


A  CLUiMP  OF  BAMBOOS. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Kevival  Meetings. 

Udupitty,  April 'jtJi,  iSSo. 
|E  left  home  last  week,  Tuesday,  starting  out  in  the  early  morning,  and  reached 
the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  T.  S.  Smith's,  of  Tillipally— having  gone  a  distance  of 
ten  miles — in  time  for  breakfast. 

Can  you  imagine  our  ride  that  morning  ?  The  misty  morning  air  was  cool 
and  invigorating.  Our  way  lay  through  several  villages.  The  road  was  level  and  well 
kept,  and  here  and  there  shaded  by  beautiful  clumps  of  bamboo,  or  by  banyan,  olive 


8  Suffering  Perseailion  for  CJirisfs  sake. 

mango,  margosa  and  other  trees.  The  birds  were  singing  merrily  ;  the  cocoanut  and 
jack  trees  were  laden  with  hanging  fruit ;  and  here  and  there  a  man  might  be  seen 
climbing  a  smooth,  tall  palmyra  palm.  We  studied  Tamil  all  the  way,  while  our  coolies 
flew  over  the  ground,  needing  no  word  from  us  except  now  and  then  a  request  not  to 
go  so  fast.  It  is  their  pride  to  go  fast,  and  they  laugh  and  joke  on  the  way,  chaffing 
each  other  for  going  so  slowly.  When  we  reach  our  destination  they  usually  eat 
their  rice  and  curry,  and  then  lie  down  on  the  ground  to  sleep  in  the  shade  of 
some  tree,  until  we  are  ready  to  go  on  again.  If  we  hold  a  meeting,  they  come  in 
and  listen. 

From  Tillipally  we  went  to  Oodooville.  The  special  revival  meetings  commenced 
on  Wednesday  evening.  Those  who  knew  the  people  said  that  many  came  who  had 
never  been  inside  a  church  before.  There  were  quite  a  number  of  requests  for  prayer 
sent  in.  They  were  given,  in  some  instances,  by  people  with  tears  running  down  their 
faces,  so  much  in  earnest  were  they  that  their  friends  might  be  brought  to  Christ. 
One  man  arose,  his  voice  choked  with  emotion,  and  intimated  that  he  had  long 
been  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  asked  our  prayers  that  he  might 
become  a  Christian  that  day.  One  after  another  prayed  for  him,  as  they  knew  better 
than  we  his  circumstances  and  the  trials  to  which  he  would  be  exposed.  It  seems  that 
he  belongs  to  quite  a  good  family,  and  his  wife  has  a  considerable  property.  Before 
he  reached  home  the  word  had  gone  before  him  that  he  had  asked  for  prayers,  and 
his  wife  and  family  shut  the  door  upon  him,  and  drove  him  from  the  house.  He  has 
to  sleep  out  of  doors,  and  prepare  his  own  food,  while  his  friends  either  scoff  and  jeer 
at  him,  or  refuse  to  notice  him  at  all.  We  have  just  heard  that  he  is  standing  firm, 
and  that  his  younger  son  has  joined  him  and  wishes  also  to  become  a  Christian. 
The  elder  son  sides  with  the  mother. 

I  notice  by  the  American  papers  that  during  the  month  of  March  Jaffna  was  made  a 
subject  of  prayer ;  so  that  while  we  were  holding  these  meetings  the  people  at  home 
were  bearing  us  up  in  their  hearts  before  God.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  those 
petitions  were  answered,  for  it  was  the  opinion  of  all  the  missionaries  present  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  wonderfully  manifested.  Native  ministers  and  workers  came  from 
a  distance  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  miles,  and  they  said  they  were  going  back  to  their 
people  to  hold  special  meetings  among  them.  There  were  many  working-women 
present,  who  were  helping  to  erect  the  new  school-building.  They  work  as  hard  as 
men,  from  seven  in  the  morning  till  six  at  night.  But  they  attended  the  half-past  six 
morning  prayer-meeting,  and  went  quietly  out  to  work  at  seven,  coming  in  again  at 
seven  in  the  evening  and  staying  till  nine  ;  then  they  went  into  my  sister's  room,  and 
listened  eagerly  while  she  talked  and  prayed  with  them.     Nearly  all  expressed  a  desire 


Au  Aged  Convert's  Prayer. 


to  become  Christians,  and  some 

said  they  had  begun  to  pray  for 

themselves.     They  were  so  much 

in  earnest  that  they  did  not  seem 

to  know  that  they  were  tired,  and 

showed  no    inclination  to  leave, 

until   my  sister,  quite  worn  out 

with    the   labours   of  the  day — 

singing,    playing   on    the   organ, 

etc. — would  tell  them  they  might 

go- 
Some  of  the  women  of  a  higher 

caste   came    into  my  room    and 

prayed    for   one  and  another  of 

their    friends.     Two    came   who 

had    just    decided    to    become 

Christians.     One    asked    us    to 

pray    for     her     two     daughters. 

"  Oh  ! "  she    said,    wringing   her 

hands,   "  I   have  given  them  to 

heathen  husbands,   and    if   they 

are  lost  it  will  be  my  own  work!" 

We  tried  to  tell  her  that  if  she 

would  strive  for  them,  and  pray 

m   faith,    God    would    hear   her 

prayer.     One  woman  prayed  very  earnestly  that  the  Lord  would  make  her  duty  plain. 

She  said  she  loved  Jesus  Christ  with  her  whole  heart,  and  wanted  to  serve  Him,  but 

if  she  came  out  openly  as  a  Christian  her  friends  would  discard  her,  and  she  was  too 

old  to  earn  her  own  living.     What  would  she  do  in  her  old  age  ?     She  would  die  of 

starvation.     We  could  only  pray  that  the  Lord  would  guide  her.     I  wish  you  could 

see  how   these  people   listen ;    how  they  lean    forward    to    catch   every  word  ;    how 

earnestly  they  pray.     They  seem   hungry  for  the  Bread  of  Life,  and  I  am  sure  the 

Lord  says,  "They  need  not  depart;  give  ye  them  to  eat."     When  His  discijjles  are 

ready  to  take  the  bread  and  give  it  to  the  people,  and  they  are  ready  to  give  it  to  each 

otlier,  all  will  soon  be  fed. 

My  sister  and  I  had  a  meeting  with  the  boarding-school  girls  at  Oodoovilie,  those 

who  were  Christians  coming  to  my  room,  and  those  who  were  not  to  my  sister's.     The 


NEST  OF  THE  TREE  'YY.V.'swxv,  {Ti'vines  arborttm). 


10 


Young  Men  deciding  for  Christ. 


Christian  girls  promised  me  that  they  would  each  take  one  or  two  of  the  non-Christian 
girls  and  pray  specially  for  them  till  they  became  Christians.  Those  who  were  not 
told  my  sister,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  that  they  wanted  to  become  Christians  that 
day ;  they  were  sorry  to  see  the  meetings  close. 

I  have  just  received  word  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  that  four  of  the  young  men  of 
the  training-school,  who  attended  the  meetings,  have  decided  to  become  Christians, 
and  three  from  the  Chunnargam  boys'  school.  It  is  said  that  many  men,  especially 
those  who  have  been  educated  in  mission  schools,  would  gladly  become  Christians, 
but  are  kept  back  by  their  heathen  wives.  These  women,  when  not  educated,  are 
extremely  bigoted.  They  tell  their  husbands  that,  if  they  become  Christians,  they  will 
throw  themselves  into  the  well ;  and  they  mean  what  they  say.  These  mothers  take 
their  young  children  to  the  temple  and  teach  them  to  bow  before  the  idol,  and  smear 
their  faces  with  ashes.  All  this  shows  the  importance  of  the  education  of  girls  in 
boarding-schools. 

The  people  seemed  to  be  more  and  more  interested  in  the  meetings  each  day.  We 
hope  to  have  another  series  of  special  meetings  before  long. 


Udupilty,  June  is/,  iSSo 

OR  several  days,  as  I  sat  studying  by  my 
window,  I  noticed  two  bright  little  faces 
peering  at  me  through  the  hedge.  The  new 
Ammas  with  their  white  skin  and  European 
dress  are  a  great  curiosity  to  the  little  brown-skinned 
children  of  this  country.  Some  days  after,  my  attention 
was  attracted  by  a  little  coughing  near  my  window. 
'I'his  is  the  way  the  Tamil  people  knock.  When  they 
wish  to  call  upon  us  or  among  themselves,  instead  of 
knocking  at  the  door  as  we  would  do,  they  stand  outside 
and  make  a  little  noise,  scraping  with  their  feet,  coughing, 
or  sneezing.  Looking  up  I  saw  the  same  two  little  faces 
which  I  had  noticed  before  through  the  hedge. 

These  two  little  boys  were  not  dressed  like  children  in 
America  or  England,  but,  like  all  little  children  here, 
wore  only  a  strip  of  cloth  about  their  loins.  Their  hair, 
which  is  generally  allowed  to  grow  long,  was  done  up  in 
a  knot  on  the  left  side  of  the  head  over  the  left  ear. 


FARIAH    CHILDREN    AT    PI.AY. 


12 


Caste. 


But  their  little  graceful  bodies,  and  their  bright,  eager  faces,  soon  made  one  forget  any 
peculiarities  of  colour  or  dress. 

"  Amma  !  Amma  !  "  they  said  when  I  had  called  them  to  me,  "  we  want  to  study 
reading  at  the  boys'  school."  "  Well,"  I  said,  "  why  do  you  not  speak  with  the  teacher 
about  this  ?  "  "  ^Ve  cannot,  we  do  not  dare 
go  into  the  yard,  we  are  '  Pariahs,' "  they 
said,  as  a  pained  look  came  into  their  eyes 
— a  look  sadly  out  of  place  in  such  young 
faces. 

The  system  of  caste  runs  through  the  whole 
fabric  of  society  here.  In  each  caste  the 
descendants  must  follow  the  occupation  of 
their  parents.  If  a  raan  is  a  carpenter,  for 
example,  his  sons  must  all  become  carpenters, 
and  his  daughters  must  marry  carpenters. 
The  different  castes  have  no  opportunity  to 
rise,  but  are  doomed  to  remain  in  the  con- 
dition in  which  they  are  born.  They  do  not 
intermarry,  do  not  mingle  together  socially, 
do  not  eat  together,  but  are  essentially 
different  communities  of  people. 

There  is  the  highest,  or  Brahmin  caste, 
who  are  priests  — thick,  fat  fellows,  who  never 
do  any  work  ;  then  the  farmers,  their 
servants,  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  goldsmiths 
and  their  washers ;  and  next  the  tree- 
climbers    and  their  washermen  ;    and  lastly 

the  weavers,  drum-beaters  and  their  washermen.  Each  keep  to  their  own  work,  and 
each  are  heartily  despised  by  the  caste  above  them,  and  in  the  same  way  look  down 
upon  the  caste  below  them.  Even  the  drum-beaters'  castes  have  a  caste  under  them 
to  do  their  washing.  It  was  to  this,  the  "  Pariah  Caste,"  these  two  little  boys  who 
stood  by  my  window  said  they  belonged.  A  century  ago,  in  the  darker  days  of  Ceylon, 
this  caste  of  people  were  never  allowed  to  leave  their  houses  except  in  the  night,  and 
then  they  were  obliged  to  drag  a  large  branch  behind  them,  so  that  any  one  of  a 
higher  caste  walking  in  the  street  might  hear  and  call  upon  them  to  turn  aside  until 
they  had  passed  ;  for  to  touch,  speak  to,  or  even  look  at  a  person  of  this  low  caste 
was  considered  a  pollution. 


A   CARPENTER. 


A  Scanty  Wardrobe. 


13 


What  a  disgrace  to  put  upon  a  human  being  made  in  the  image  of  God !  Shame  on 
the  religion  of  Siva  which  upholds  and  fosters  such  wickedness.  Under  English  rule 
the  Pariahs  have  liberty  to  go  and  come  as  they  please  ;  but  they  are  everywhere 
scorned  and  oppressed. 

They  have  some  queer  customs.     Often  poor  tree-climbers  own  only  a  single  cloth. 
In  order  to  wash  this  they  ask  the  washerman,  and  he 
does  not  refuse,  to  lend  them  the  cloth  of  some  other 
person  which  he  has  taken  to  wash,  while  he  takes  and 
washes  theirs  ;  thus  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  one 
to  see  his  cloth,  which  he  has  sent  to  be  washed,  worn 
on    the   person    of    a    stranger.     The 
washerman  stands  knee-deep  in  water        p^' 
and  bleaches  the  garments  by  knocking        ^-^^^ 
them  over  the   stones,  swinging  them  \<»p: 

over  his  head  as  a  thresher  does  his 
flail ;  to  dry  them  he  spreads  them  by 
the  road-side  on  the  hot  sand,  and 
places  a  few  stones  on  the  corners  to 
keep  them  from  blowing  away.  He  is 
rarely  paid  in  money,  but  is  generally 
given  the  leavings  of  table  food  and  a 
little  rice  and  curry  stuffs. 

\\'e  told  the 
two  little  boys, 
whose  names 
we  learned  we  re 
Kassappu  and 
Kadpeyal,  that 
if  they  would 
come  the  fol- 
lowing day, 
with  their 
bodies  bathed 
and  their  hair 
nicely  combed, 
we  would  go 
with  them  our- 


WASHERMEN. 


14  Breaking  down  Caste  Barriers. 

selves  to  the  school.  The  first  thing  which  I  saw  on  looking  out  of  my  window 
early  the  next  morning  was  the  two  little  boys  watching  for  me.  I  went  with  them  to 
the  school,  but  could  hardly  induce  the  little  fellows  to  enter  ;  they  fairly  trembled 
with  fear  as  they  stood  in  the  presence  of  higher  caste  boys.  After  years  of  persistent 
effort,  the  missionaries  have  succeeded  in  inducing  the  children  of  a  large  number  of 
castes  to  study  together  in  the  schools,  though  it  is  amusing  to  see  the  highest  caste 
boys  sometimes  bringing  little  mats  with  them  on  which  to  sit,  and  so  preserve  their 
tottering  dignity.  The  teacher,  a  Christian  native,  willingly  promised  to  receive  and 
do  his  best  for  the  little  boys.  We  passed  through  the  school  bungalow  with  its 
thatched  roof,  where  the  higher  standards  were  studying,  through  the  veranda  where 
the  middle  standards  were  reciting,  and  came  into  the  yard,  where,  under  the  trees, 
sat  twenty  or  more  little  boys  busily  engaged  writing  out  their  lessons  with  little  sticks 
in  the  sand. 

I  motioned  Kassappu  and  Kadpeyal  to  sit  down  with  the  others,  when  lo  !  as 
quick  as  lightning,  these  twenty  little  naked  morsels  of  society  scattered  on  all  sides 
as  if  they  had  been  poisoned,  crying,  ''  Cha  !  Cha  !  "  while  one  gave  the  youngest  little 
boy  a  vicious  pinch,  and  another  actually  spat  at  them.  How  strange  that  children  five 
and  six  years  old  could  imbibe  and  cherish  such  bitter  prejudices  ! 

The  two  little  boys  sat  that  day  in  a  corner  of  the  yard  by  themselves,  but  the  next 
day  brought  word  that  the  whole  school  was  threatening  to  leave,  and  even  the  Mani- 
agar  or  head  man  of  the  village  had  sent  word  that,  if  these  low-caste  boys  came,  he 
would  not  allow  his  child  to  come.  I  decided  that  rather  than  break  up  the  school  I 
would  for  the  present  teach  the  boys  myself.  This  storm  of  public  sentiment  was 
a  great  surprise  to  me.  The  upper  caste  said,  "  If  this  caste  be  educated,  who 
will  do  our  washing?  " — the  old  spirit  of  slavery  which  has  only  lately  been  wiped  out 
in  our  own  land. 

The  little  boys  came  to  our  veranda  each  day  for  a  lesson,  and  learned  well,  mastering 
the  247  letters  of  the  Tamil  alphabet  with  surprising  quickness.  They  learned  many 
things  outside  of  their  books,  among  others  to  say  "Good  morning,"  and  "  Thank 
you."  One  day  we  showed  them  a  picture-book.  They  had  never  seen  a  picture 
before  in  all  their  lives,  poor  things,  but  v/hen  I  pointed  out  to  them  the  children 
and  trees  and  animals  in  the  pictures,  they  caught  at  the  idea.  You  should  have 
seen  their  delight,  and  have  heard  their  shout  when  they  themselves  discovered  a  cat 
and  a  dog. 

One  day,  while  they  were  with  us,  a  class  of  fourteen  large  boys,  whose  Bible  lesson 
in  English  my  sister  had  kindly  offered  to  teach  through  the  term,  came  in.  When  they 
saw  these  two  poor  little  washer-boys  they  fairly  glared  at  them.     Sister  said,  "  Why  do 


Our  Little  Pariahs.  15 

you  look  so  angry?"  They  answered,  "Those  boys  have  no  right  to  come  here. 
They  are  low  caste.  If  we  should  take  up  a  little  stick  they  would  run  from  us.  It  is 
not  the  custom  of  the  country  to  show  them  any  attention."  That  is  the  excuse  here 
for  every  kind  of  evil  practice.  "  It  is  the  custom  of  the  country,  ma'am."  Sister 
went  up  to  the  little  boys,  and  putting  her  hand  on  the  head  of  the  older,  said,  "  God 
made  this  little  boy  as  well  as  you.  He  gave  to  him  an  immortal  soul  as  well  as  to 
you.  Jesus  Christ  died  to  save  him  and  you.  You  will  both  stand  together  in  the 
judgment.  God  says  He  hates  pride,  and  if  you  are  proud  and  despise  this  little  boy 
for  whom  Jesus  Christ  died,  you  sin  against  God." 

The  next  day  the  school  boys  did  not  come,  and  the  reason  given  was  that  nsy  sister 
had  disgraced  herself  by  touching  these  boys  of  a  low  caste,  and  they  did  not  wish 
to  be  taught  by  such  a  person.  We  said  nothing,  knowing  that  the  class  enjoyed 
coming  too  well  to  deprive  themselves  of  it  long.  And  we  were  right.  They  came 
the  following  morning  with  a  shamefaced  look. 

Kassappu  and  Kadpeyal  continue  to  come  to  us,  and  are  just  the  brightest, 
funniest,  most  affectionate  little  boys  I  ever  saw.  They  are  philanthropic  little  fellows 
too  ;  for  finding  themselves  well  received,  and  expanding  under  kindness  like  flowers 
in  the  sunshine,  they  came  bringing  three  other  little  boys  and  two  little  girls,  who 
they  insist,  with  all  earnestness,  must  also  learn  to  read. 

What  a  shame  that  all  their  caste,  from  no  fault  of  their  own,  should  practically 
be  shut  out  from  social  privileges,  and  condemned  to  be  always  poor,  ignorant, 
and  despised,  with  no  bright  future  before  them  in  this  life,  and  with  no  prospect  in 
view  for  the  life  to  come,  according  to  Hinduism,  but  to  live  again  on  earth,  perhaps  as 
an  insect  or  a  snake  ! 

In  contrast  with  all  this  how  should  we  thank  God  for  giving  to  the  world  His  dear 
Son,  a  Saviour  to  the  poor  and  the  lost !  The  sight  which  I  saw  a  few  days  ago,  ol 
three  hundred  Christian  natives  sitting  down  without  regard  to  caste  at  the  common 
table  of  our  Lord,  gave  proof  of  what  the  Gospel  has  done,  and  a  promise  of  what  it 
■will  do  yet  more  abundantly  in  this  land. 

As  sure  as  God's  word  is  true,  so  surely  may  we  rely  on  the  promise,  "  The  whole 
earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God." 


MANEPY   MISSION    HOUSE   AND   PUPILS   FROM    THE   STATION   SCHOOLS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
First  Year's  Review. 

Manepy,  December  i6t/i,  iSSo. 

IME  has  flown  so  swiftly  of  late  that  I  cannot  reaHze  that  it  is  a  year  and 
three  months  since  we  left  America,  nearly  a  year  since  we  landed  in 
Jaffna,  and  ten  weeks  since  we  came  to  Manepy.  This  year  has  been 
the  busiest,  and  I  think,  all  things  considered,  the  happiest  year  of  my 
life.  I  can  truly  say  that  I  have  never  for  one  moment  regretted  my  coming  ta 
Ceylon,  but  have  felt  thankful  to  God  for  permitting  me  to  be  a  co-labourer  with  the 
missionaries  in  this  land. 

As  you  may  know,  there  are  over  300.000  people  in  North  Ceylon.  Labouring 
among  them  are  two  families  under  the  English  Church  Mission,  two  under  the 
English  Wesleyan  Mission,  and  five  under  our  own  ;  which  allows  an  average  of  over 
30,000  people  to  each  missionary  family.  What  would  any  pastor  at  home  think  of 
such  a  charge  ? 

Manepy  is  one  of  the  smaller  stations,  and  we  have  within  its  boundaries  only 
about  10,000  people.'  There  are  two  Christian  churches  — one  here  at  the  station, 
the  other  at  Navaly — numbering  together  one  hundred  and  four  communicants. 
There  is  one  pastor,  and  another   to  be  ordained  very  soon.     As  helpers,  there  are 


'   A  short  lime  after  this  the  station  of  raiiditerippii  also  was  given  into  our  care. 


IVori'  at  Mancpy.  17 

two  catechists  and  two  Bible-women.  These  do  much  faithful  house-to-house  work 
in  the  villages,  hold  cottage  meetings  and  Sabbath  services,  and  assist  in  our  large 
tent-meetings.  The  church-members,  as  a  whole,  are  active  and  earnest.  They 
have  surprised  us  by  their  willingness  to  co-operate  with  us  and  act  upon  our  sugges- 
tions. As  far  as  1  have  means  of  knowing  them  personally,  I  am  led  to  think  that 
they  are  truly  God's  children,  really  changed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  missionary 
work  would  not  have  been  a  failure  here  had  it  done  nothing  more  than  save  and  bless 
these  men  and  women. 

We  have  within  the  Manepy  district  eight  Sabbath-schools,  with  thirty-four  teachers, 
and  an  average  attendance  of  eight  hundred  scholars.  Three  of  these  have  been 
organized  during  the  last  two  months,  and  all  have  increased  in  their  attendance.  The 
station  Sabbath-school  has  increased  from  not  quite  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  and 
thirty  five,  and  will,  I  hope,  number  three  hundred  before  New  Year's  Day.  If  you  could 
look  in  upon  us  with  our  eighteen  teachers  and  classes  nicely  graded,  our  "  Inter- 
national Lesson  Leaves,"  and  Sankey's  hymns  in  Tamil,  our  organ  and  black- 
board, you  would  forget  for  the  moment,  I  thmk,  that  you  were  in  a  heathen 
land. 

There  are  in  the  Manepy  district  ten  day-schools,  supported  mainly  by  Government 
grants,  but  under  the  direction  of  a  Board  of  Education,  composed  of  native 
Christians  and  missionaries.  In  these  schools  are  thirty-one  teachers,  the  majority  of 
whom  are  Christians.  This  is  an  important  field,  and  we  hope  to  make  the  most  of  it. 
The  teachers,  both  Christian  and  heathen,  were  delighted  wiih  our  proposition  to  \isit 
the  schools  once  a  week  and  devote  an  hour  in  each  to  the  study  of  a  Bible  lesson. 
We  sold  Several  hundred  copies  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  in  Tamil,  selected  a  verse  of 
scripture  to  be  learned  and  a  portion  to  be  read  each  day,  secured  the  co-operation  of 
the  teachers  in  teaching  the  lesson  every  day  during  the  first  hour  in  the  morning,  and 
mapped  out  the  schools  for  our  weekly  round  of  visits. 

The  plan  has  succeeded  thus  far  beyond  our  highest  expectations.  The  teachers 
have  entered  heartily  into  it,  for  they  feel  that  our  weekly  visits  will  prove  a  real 
encouragement  to  the  schools  and  an  honour  to  themselves,  so  highly  dst  the  mission- 
aries esteemed  throughout  Jaffna.  The  moment  we  are  seen  approaching  the  school, 
all  lay  aside  their  books,  and  when  we  enter  they  rise  and  give  us  salaams.  The 
seats  have  been  already  arranged,  and  we  take  our  different  classes  and  go  over  the 
different  lessons  of  the  week,  which  have  been  so  well  prepared  that  only  once  have 
we  had  reason  to  complain.  We  try  to  make  the  lessons  enjoyable,  and  slowly,  but 
surely,  we  hope  to  win  our  way  into  the  confidence  of  the  children,  and  make  them  our 
friends.     The  aim  of  all  our  efforts  is  to  win  them  to  Jesus  Christ. 


J. 8  Young  Men  and  their  Difficitltus. 

Sixteen  voung  men  are  studying  in  a  select  school  at  the  station.  As  they  come  from 
heathen  homes,  they  find,  after  having  Hved  under  Christian  influence  for  some  time, 
that  their  old  faith  is  shaken,  and  their  minds  are  full  of  doubts.  To  meet  these 
doubts  we  asked  them  to  write  out  any  points  that  were  troubling  them,  or  questions 
they  would  like  to  ask,  and  we  promised  on  each  Monday  afternoon  to  answer  them, 
as  far  as  we  could.  Since  then  the  questions  have  poured  in  upon  us,  and  the  eager- 
ness with  which  they  lean  forward  and  listen  to  our  answers,  and  the  remarks 
they  make  in  return,  show  that  the  difficulties  are  real,  and  their  minds  alive  and 
active. 

I  will  give  you  a  few  specimens  of  their  questions  :  "  What  is  religion  ?  "  "  What 
is  the  cause  of  the  existence  of  the  different  religions?"  "What  are  the  evidences 
that  the  Christian  religion  is  true?"  "What  are  the  external  evidences  that  Christ, 
rather  than  Mahomet  and  Buddha,  was  a  revelation  of  God  ?  "  "  If  Christ  paid  the 
penalty  for  our  sins,  why  did  He  not  suffer  to  all  eternity  ?  "  "  Why  did  God  place 
the  forbidden  fruit  in  the  garden,  when  He  knew  Adam  would  disobey?  "  "  Why  was 
Jacob  blessed  instead  of  Esau  ?  "  "  Why  did  the  angels  fall  from  heaven — is  it  a 
place  of  temptation  ?"  "  What  will  become  of  the  soul  between  death  and  the  judg- 
ment?" "  If  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  is  not  true,  why  are  men  born  blind  or 
deformed,  if  not  for  some  former  sin  ?  "  etc. 

Since  they  themselves  ask  these  questions,  we  have  an  opportunity  to 
tell  them  some  truths  from  which  they  cannot  get  away,  and  which  are  destined 
to  stay  in  their  minds  until  they  are  either  answered  or  accepted.  We 
have  had  their  cheerful  assent,  thus  far,  to  all  we  have  said.  We  have  allowed 
them  perfect  freedom  of  speech,  and  have  endeavoured  never  to  leave  a  point  until 
it  was  fully  understood.  Our  hearts  yearn  over  these  sixteen  young  men  in  their 
opening  manhood.  Will  you  not  pray  with  us  that  they  may  truly  find  the  light  of 
life? 

We  have  a  meeting  for  native  Christian  mothers  and  children  on  Tuesday  after- 
noons, which  usually  numbers  fifty  or  sixty.  The  Christian  women  lead  in  prayer, 
repeat  verses,  and  take  turns  in  leading  the  meeting  and  explaining  the  Scripture 
lesson.  Our  great  desire  and  hope  for  Manepy  is,  that  every  Christian  woman  may 
take  it  up  as  her  work  to  teach  some  three  or  four  heathen  women  to  read  the  Bible. 
This  would  be  a  permanent  influence,  reaching  out  into  the  heathen  homes,  and,  step 
by  step,  the  heathen  mothers  might  be  led  to  pray  to  God,  to  come  to  church,  and, 
finally,  to  Jesus.  The  seclusive  and  exclusive  habits  of  Eastein  women,  together  with 
caste  distinctions  and  their  strong  prejudices,  make  it  very  difficult  to  carry  out  this 
plan:  still,  "with  God  all   things  are  possible."     The  women   have  already  made  a 


Onr  Coolies  and  Our  House.  19 

beginning,  and  twelve  pupils  were  reported  at  our  last  meeting,  besides  those  whom 
the  Bible-women  reach  regularly. 

In  the  moonlight  evenings,  through  half  of  the  month,  we  have  tent  meetings,  which 
are  quite  largely  attended.  We  have  a  good-sized  tent,  received  from  Madras,  which 
our  coolies  can  put  up  in  forty-five  minutes,  and  take  down  in  fifteen.  If  we  go  out 
with  the  tent,  organ,  lamps,  hymn-books,  etc.,  we  are  sure  to  have  a  good  audience  in 
almost  any  village.  We  have  had  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  at  these 
gatherings. 

The  rainy  season  is  upon  us  now,  which  makes  it  a  little  difficult  to  get  about 
through  the  muddy  fields  and  lanes.  The  rice-fields  are  flooded,  but  our  coolies  are 
always  ready  to  take  us  anywhere  and  in  any  weather.  These  coolies  are  really 
a  great  comfort,  and  are  useful  in  many  ways  besides  drawing  the  bandy.  They  have 
begun  to  learn  to  read,  and  are  making  good  progress.  It  is  interesting  when  we  are 
in  the  schools  to  see  them  sitting  outside,  studying  their  books  in  the  interval  of 
waiting.  The  three  whom  vve  employ  regularly  have  learned  the  Lord's  Prayer  in 
Tamil,  and  their  voices  join  with  ours  every  morning  as  we  repeat  it  at  the  close  of 
family  prayers.  They  go  to  church  and  Sabbath -school.  It  is  our  prayer  that  they 
may  soon  truly  know  our  Saviour,  and  give  their  hearts  to  Him.  They  seem  quite  like 
friends  to  us  now,  and  we  are  so  accustomed  to  them  that  we  do  not  notice,  as  we 
did  at  first,  their  dark  skins,  shaven  heads,  or  the  absence  of  all  clothing  e.xcept  a 
yard  or  two  about  the  waist.  They  cannot  be  induced  to  wear  more,  both  on  account 
of  the  heat  and  because  it  is  not  the  custom  among  their  caste.  Their  only  food  is 
rice  and  curry,  which  they  cook  themselves.  Their  whole  expense  amounts  to  about 
$2.25  in  American  money  per  month  for  each. 

Our  home  in  Manepy  is  a  very  pleasant  one.  The  compound  is  large,  and  has  over 
forty  kinds  of  trees.  Near  the  house  we  have  the  flambo,  now  just  ready  to  burst 
into  a  glory  of  scarlet  blossoms;  the  corktree,  with  its  white  clusters  of  sweet-smell- 
ing flowers,  which  cover  the  ground  like  snow ;  and  on  the  other  side  the  tamarind, 
with  its  acid  fruit-pods.  There  are  mahogany,  olive,  margosa,  teak,  iron-wood,  ebony, 
mango,  jack,  wood-apple,  and  many  other  kinds  of  trees  in  the  yard.  Above  them 
shoot  up  the  cocoa-nut  and  Palmyra  palms,  with  their  magnificent  tall  trunks  and  great 
tufted  heads. 

Our  house  has  three  large  and  four  small  rooms,  all  on  the  ground  floor,  which  is 
raised  about  four  feet  above  the  ground.  The  walls  are  of  stone  and  mortar ;  the 
floors  are  of  the  same,  to  prevent  the  invasion  of  white  ants.  U'e  have  only  a  few 
glass  windows ;  the  other  windows,  as  well  as  the  doors,  are  supplied  with  shutters, 
which  may  be  used  at  night  to  give  security,  and  a  free  access  of  air  at  the  s.ime  time. 


20 


7 he  Pleasant  Rainy  Season. 


Our  furniture  is  the  plain, 
cane-bottomed  kind;  some  of 
it  brought  from  America,  the 
rest  made  here  by  native  car- 
penters, who  imitate  Enghsh 
patterns  with  great  exactness. 
We  have  learned  to  like  rice 
and  curry,  and  nearly  all  the 
native  fruits  and  products. 
Our  dress  for  the  whole  year  is 
of  white  material,  plainly  made. 

Our  flower-garden  in  front 
of  the  house  provides  our  table 
w'ith  fresh  roses  daily ;  and 
our  vegetable  garden  con- 
tains over  forty  plantain-trees. 
There  is  nothing  dreary  about 
the  rainy  season  ;  it  seems  to 
us  the  pleasantest  part  of  the 
year.  Everywhere  the  new 
crass  is  very  green  and  fresh, 
and  the  sun  shines  out  brightly 
after  the  heavy  showers.  The 
mercury  stands  at  about  85° 
in  the  shade  without  much 
change.  In  the  house  in  the 
hottest  season  ,  the  mercury 
seldom  rises  above  ()y,  and  rarely  falls  in  the  coolest  season  below  76°. 


THK   JACK    TREE,    SlIOWINO    FRUIT. 


SHRINE  OF  THE  GOD   TULLIAR. 


CHAPTER  V. 
A  Visit  to  a  Heathen  School. 

Manepy,  March  Wth,  1881. 

|UnGlNG  by  what  we  can  learn  from  the  experience  of  the  missionaries 
who  have  been  here  longest,  it  would  seem  that  the  work  among  the 
young  is  followed  by  the  most  encouraging  results. 

We  visit  our  schools  every  week,  giving  a  Bible-lesson.  Many  of  the 
children  can  now  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  greater 
part  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  chajiter^  of  Matthew  :  they  are  at  present  learning  the 
seventh.  Some  have  committed  to  memory  the  twenty-third  and  one-hundred-and- 
third  Psalms.  We  take  our  little  organ  with  us,  as  they  have  learned  many  of  the 
Sankey  hymns,  and  many  Christian  lyrics.  I  rejoice  to  think,  when  these  boys  and 
girls  shall  have  grown  to  be  men  and  women,  how  very  precious  these  hymns  will 
become  to  them. 

3* 


22  A  Too  Zealous  Teacher. 

Our  great  desire  is  to  get  all  these  children  into  the  Sabbath-school,  and  we  are  trying 
to  enlist  the  teachers  on  our  side.  In  one  school,  we  have  succeeded  better  than  we 
wished.  Only  last  week  we  discovered  that  the  teacher  was  in  the  habit  of  calling  up 
the  scholars  every  Monday  morning  to  ask  if  they  had  attended  Sabbath-school  the 
day  before,  and  if  they  had  not,  they  would  receive  a  whipping !  When  we  asked  for 
an  explanation^  we  were  told  that  they  had  tried  the  plan  of  giving  a  good  mark  to 
those  who  had  attended,  and  a  ba  J  one  to  those  who  had  not ;  but  as  some  of  the 
scholars  were  always  at  the  foot  of  the  class,  this  had  no  effect  upon  them,  and  so  they 
thought  they  would  try  someihing  else.  Of  course,  we  explained  that  however  effective 
this  might  be  in  one  direction,  it  utterly  failed  in  accomplishing  our  main  object,  which 
was  to  win  the  love  and  sympathy  of  the  children  for  the  Sabbath-school ;  and  that  we 
would  try  to  make  the  [>lace  so  attractive  that  they  would  want  to  come. 

In  one  school,  a  private  school  not  connected  with  our  mission,  situated  in 
Santilipay,  which  is  the  strongest  Sivite  community  in  this  field,  we  have  not  yet 
obtained  a  permit  to  teach.  We  visited  the  school,  a  short  time  ago,  with  a 
permission,  or  rather  with  an  invitation,  from  the  manager  to  do  so.  A  relative  of 
one  of  the  teachers  volunteered  to  accompany  us  ;  but  it  seems  that  the  teachers, 
knowing  that  we  were  coming,  had  determined  that  Christianity  should  be  kept  out 
of  their  school.  When  we  entered  three  of  the  teachers  received  us  courteously,  but 
the  fourth  seemed  more  opposed  to  Christianity  than  the  others.  After  we  had 
listened  for  awhile  to  various  recitations  we  asked  : — 

'•  Is  English  taught  in  this  school  ?  " 

"Why  should  wi  teach  English?"  he  asked.  "It  is  not  a  primitive  language. 
Sanscrit  is  the  j primitive  language." 

"  Don't  you  think  there  are  many  valuable  books  in  English  ?  " 

"  The  most  valuable  books  are  in  Tamil,"  he  answered.  "  The  books  in 
English  are  not  true.  The  works  of  the  greatest  writers  who  have  ever  lived  are  in 
Sanscrit." 

"You  are  an  educated  mm,"  we  replied,  "and  you  know  that  the  most  valuable 
"books  in  science — th')se  which  you  accept  and  believe — are  found  not  in  the  Tamil  or 
the  Sanscrit,  but  in  the  English." 

"  What  do  we  care  for  science  ?  "  he  asked  in  reply.  "  Our  religious  books  are  in 
Sanscrit." 

"  Well,  this  is  not  a  matter  on  which  we  need  to  dispute,"  we  said.  "  You  have 
studied  English,  and  we  are  learning  Tamil." 

At  this  point  one  of  the  teachers  said,  "  We  have  a  class  in  English,  and  we  would 
like  to  have  you  e.xamine  it,  if  you  please."     So  he  called  up  a  class,  and  my  brother 


A  Moonlii^ht  Meetim^. 


23 


examined  them  in   their  studies,  commended  them  a  Httle,  and  interested   them   in 
some  subjects  of  which  they  had  not  thought  bL^fore. 

As  we  had  been  visiting  other  schools  in  the  morning,  we  had  our  Httle  organ  with 
us,  and  had  let  our  coolies  carry  it  into  this  school-room.  We  noticed  that  the  organ 
had  been  regarded  with  considerable  curiosity,  and  we  asked  if  they  would  like  to 
have  us  sing  something.  "Nothing  religious,"  said  the  teacher  before  spoken  of;  but 
the  others  all  said,  "Yes,  yes  ;  please  sing  something."  So  we  sang,  ^'Thpre's  a  land 
that  is  fairer  than  day,"  in  Tamil.  The  children  were  delighted,  and  at  once  gathered 
around  as  close  as  they  could  get  to  us.  When  we  had  sung  a  little  we  proposed  to 
go,  not  wishing  to  infringe  upon  their  time.  We  said  to  the  teachers  that  it  would 
give  us  pleasure  to  have  them  call  on  us,  when 
they  felt  disposed  to  do  so. 

When  coming  away  we  noticed  that  the  teacher 
whom  we  had  talked  with  had  trouble  with  his 
eyes,  and  on  inquiry  we  were  surprised  to  learn 
that    he  was    totally   blind.      The    moment    we 
showed  interest  in  his  eyes  his  manner  changed, 
and  his  anxiety  was  very  great  as  we  examined 
the  eyes.     Oh,  what  would  he  not  give  for  sight 
U'e  told  him  that  possibly  his  sight  might  be  re- 
stored ;  but  he  did  not  know  that  it  could  be,  as  he 
has  been  doctoring  with  native  drugs.     We  asked 
him  to  come  to  our  house,  and  we  would  note 
down  his  symptoms  ;  and  he  consented  with  great 
eagerness.     He  came  a  little   time 
afterward,  and  we  had  considerable 
conversation  with  him.     If  his  sight 
could   be   restored   by  going   to 
Madras  for  an  operation,  it  would 
be   a   great    event    in   favour  of 
Christianity  in  the  region  where 
he  lives. 

The  same  day  that  we  visited 
the    Sivite    school,    we     had    a 
moonlight  meeting  in  the  village. 
We  felt  some  anxiety  with  regard  to 
it,  as  there  were  so  many  educated 


24  Caste  Troubles. 

people  in  the  place  who  were  strong  Sivites.  We  noliced,  also,  that  the  Christians 
looked  troubled,  and  they  told  us  afterwards  that  several  heathen  had  come — as  they 
said — to  break  up  the  meeting  ;  but  as  He  arranged  it  who  cares  even  for  the  sparrows, 
who  numbers  the  hairs  on  our  heads,  and  who  holds  the  hearts  of  all  men  in  His 
hands,  we  were  not  molested.  Fortunately  there  was  a  Christian  man  of  high  caste 
with  us,  \vho  had  considerable  influence  over  the  people.  As  my  sister  and  I  spoke, 
it  was  something  so  new  to  hear  ladies  speak  that  they  listened  not  only  with  attention, 
but  seemed  to  lean  forward  to  catch  every  word.  They  even  paid  us  the  compliment 
of  saying  to  one  of  the  Christians  that  w-e  were  "  very  clever  speakers ; "  meaning,  I 
suppose,  very  clever  for  women. 

We  have  tried  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  children,  and  they  are  proving  our  best 
allies.  When  we  wish  to  hold  a  meeting  in  any  place  we  have  only  to  tell  the 
scholars,  and  they  come,  and  bring  with  them  their  parents  and  friends.  Almost 
every  day  the  children  com^  to  our  house  and  ask,  "  Where  is  the  next  meeting  to  be  ?  " 
The  little  things  seem  to  have  much  confidence  in  us  ;  if  any  of  their  friends  are  sick 
they  come  to  us  at  once,  expecting  that  we  will  certainly  come  and  visit  them.  We 
cannot  disappoint  their  faith  in  us,  and  so  we  have  a  busy  life. 

It  is  one  of  the  trials  of  a  missionary  to  see  so  much  sickness  and  poverty  as 
I  suppose  there  must  always  be  in  a  country  so  thickly  populated  as  this.  People 
at  home  can  hardly  appreciate  the  difference  between  the  higher  and  lower 
castes  of  this  country.  '*  What !  "  it  is  said  ;  "will  not  the  people  in  India  even  sit 
together  in  church?"  But  is  it  really  such  a  strange  thing?  I  have  worshipped 
in  handsome  churches  in  America,  but  I  never  saw  one  of  the  elegant  members  lead 
into  church  by  the  arm  an  Irishman  direct  from  his  work  on  the  streets — his  feet 
covered  with  mud,  and  his  clothing  guiltless  of  contact  with  soap  and  water — show 
him  into  his  seat,  and  share  his  hymn-book  with  him.  But  the  difference  between 
these  two  people  would  not  represent  that  between  a  Brahmin  and  a  Pariah.  The 
Brahmin  is  lastidiously  clean  ;  it  is  a  part  of  his  religion.  His  clothing  is  washed  every 
day  ;  he  bathes  before  every  meal  ;  the  things  by  which  he  would  consider  himself 
polluted,  should  they  touch  him,  are  almost  innumerable.  His  mind — in  a  certain 
sense — is  highly  cultured. 

But  the  low  caste — God  pity  him  ! — how  hard  a  lot  is  his  !  His  struggle  for 
existence  is  so  great  that  his  spirit  is  broken  •.  he  has  no  courage.  He  very  seldom 
washes  his  clothes — at  least  so  I  judge  from  their  appearance.  I  speak  to  him  of  the 
love  of  God,  of  His  fatherly  care,  of  His  pity  and  sorrow  for  us,  of  Jesus  Christ  as  his 
Saviour,  and  he  surprises  me  by  saying,  "  I  will  become  a  Christian  if  you  will  tell  me 
where  I  \n\\  get  something  for  my  children   to  eat."      I  begin  to  tiiink  that  he  who 


Breaking  Caste  Barriers. 


2^ 


could  make  two  spears  of  paddy  grow 
where  only  one  grows  now  would  be  a 
benefactor  indeed.  There  is  not  a 
-""•  plough  in  this  jirovince.  They  still 
use  a  crooked  stick,  which  only 
scratches  the  surface  of  the  ground  ; 
and  when  a  drought  comes  every- 
thing is  burnt  up,  and  we  have  a 
famine.  I  am  mistaken  ;  there  is 
one  plough  here,  but  it  is  too  heavy 
for  use. 

I  am  sure  that  the  great  poverty 
of  many  is  a  hindrance  to  their 
becoming  Christians.  We  are  trying 
to  fight  against  the  spirit  of  caste. 
We  are  endeavouring  to  teach  the 
higher  castes  to  pity  and  help  the 
lower  castes,  and  treat  them  as  their 
brethren  in  Christ.  We  have  succeeded  in  getting  a  good  many  of  the  low-caste 
women  and  children,  and  some  men,  to  attend  the  church  and  Sabbath-school.  ^Ve 
tried  to  have  them  sit  on  the  benches.  We  said,  "  When  we  come  into  God's  house 
let  there  be  no  difference."  But  the  lower  castes  would  not  sit  on  the  benches ;  they 
are  not  accustomed  to  it :  they  have  not  such  a  thing  as  a  chair  in  their  small  houses. 
They  sit  on  a  mat  spread  on  the  ground,  and  if  we  should  insist  on  their  sitting  on 
seats,  they  would  not  come  to  church  ;  so  we  have  spread  nice  clean  mats  on  the 
right  and  left  side  of  the  pulpit,  and  they  are  very  happy  sitting  there. 

Our  Christians,  who  are  mostly  of  high-caste,  strive  very  hard  to  help  the  lower 
classes.  I  hardly  know  of  a  Christian  woman  in  Manepy  who  has  not  pledged  herself 
to  give  a  part  of  one  day  each  week  to  go  out  into  the  villages  to  teach  and  help 
those  poor  people.  They  do  this  although  some  of  them  have  large  families,  and  hard 
work  to  do  at  home. 

My  letter  has  grown  long,  and  yet  it  seems  to  me  that  I  have  scarcely  spoken 
about  our  work.  I  will  simply  say  that  we  love  it ;  that  we  feel  strong  and  well,  to  do 
it ;  and  that  we  like  the  field  at  Manepy  very  much. 


A   I'KE.VCniNG   SERVICE. 


i;;.\dl:  te.milc. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


A  Great  Heathen  Festival. 

Manepy,  3/ay  isi,  i88l. 
[HE  great  annual  heathen  festival  of  the  temple  here,  lasting  twelve  days, 
began  the  ist  of  April.  This  temple,  which  is  now  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  in  Jaffna,  was  forty  years  ago  only  a  little  hut  at  the  base  of  a 
large  tree,  and  was  supposed  to  be  inhabited  by  the  god  PuUiar. 
Superstitious  and  ignorant  people  vowed,  in  times  of  sickness,  to  make  offerings  to 
this  god  if  he  would  cure  them.  Gifts  began  to  pour  in  ;  the  story  of  imagined  cures 
spread;  and  thus  in  forty  years  a  large  and  richly  endowed  temple  has  grown  up,  to 
which  thousands  of  devotees  flock  yearly  from  all  the  surrounding  country.  Perhaps 
the  fact  that  it  was  just  opposite  our  Christian  church  and  mission  premises  helped 
its  growth,  for  many  Sivites  gave  toward  it  for  the  purpose  of  showing  their  opposition 
to  Christianity.  It  is  one  of  eight  large  temples  in  this  peninsula,  besides  which  there 
are  five  hundred  smaller  ones,  each  with  priests  and  daily  offerings,  not  to  mention  the 
chousands  of  family  shrines  and  household  gods. 

The  daily  exercises  of  the  twelve  days'  feast  are  as  follows  :  At  six  o'clock  every 
morning  the  bell  is  rung,  and  people  gather  at  the  temple.  The  stone  idol  of  Pulliar 
is  in  the  innermost  court  ;  it  represents  the  god  as  having  an  elephant's  head,  four 
arms,  large  abdomen,  and  two  dwarf  legs,  on  which  he  sits  Turkish-fashion.  The 
idol,  bathed  carefully  with  milk  and  perfumes,  is  then  clothed  and  decorated  with 
jewels,  and  his  forehead  marked  with  the  sacred  ashes,  and  the  third  eye  of  Siva. 
The  veil  is  then  opened,  and  fruits,  rice,  etc.,  brought  by  the  worshippers,  are  offered 
before  him.  Incense  is  burned  ;  prayers  unintelligible  to  the  people  are  uttered 
by  the  priests ;  and  songs  to  his  praises,  instrumental  musicj  <X:c.,  complete  the 
ceremony. 


The  Worship  of  Pni/iar.  27 

Some  sacred  ashes  and  pounded  sandal-wood  offered  to  the  god  are  passed  to 
tlie  worshippers,  who  mark  themselves  on  forehead,  nerk,  arms,  breast  and  back  with 
the  stripes  of  Siva.  As  these  things  are  offei  el  first  to  the  highest  caste,  and  thence 
downward,  many  quarrels  arise  as  to  which  families  are  the  highest  in  rank.  The 
priest  gives  each  one  a  flower,  which  is  placed  behind  the  ear  or  in  the  coil  of  hair. 
The  same  i)rocess  is  next  gone  through  to  a  flagstaff,  standing  in  the  middle  of  the 
courtyard  ;  and  thirdly  to  a  small  brass  image  of  Pulliar.  Every  morning  or  evening 
some  of  the  more  devout,  wishing  to  atone  for  sin  or  to  perform  a  work  of  merit, 
roll  on  their  almost  naked  bodies  around  the  temple,  over  the  earth  and  stones  ;  the 
women,  bowing  and  touching  their  hands  on  the  ground,  wipe  their  faces  in  the  dust, 
rise  and  place  their  feet  where  the  head  touched  before,  fall  forward  again,  and  so 
measure  their  length  around  the  temple. 

During  the  festival  the  ceremonies  are  repeated  at  noon,  and  the  brass  idol  is  taken 
out  for  a  ride  around  the  court  of  the  temple.  He  is  carefully  fastened  on  the  back 
of  a  large  painted  wooden  rat  or  peacock,  or  some  other  animal — each  day  a  different 
one — which  is  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  At  night  — beginning  at  midnight  and 
lasting  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morning — with  torchlight  and  music,  the  god  is  given  his 
ride  around  the  outside  of  the  temple.  For  twelve  nights  our  rest  has  been  entirely 
broken  by  the  deafening  horns,  drums,  and  cymbals^  mingled  with  the  shouts  of  the 
people  and  the  explosion  of  various  kinds  of  fireworks.  All  through  these  midnight 
festivals  a  troop  of  dancing-girls  of  the  most  abandoned  character  dance  before  th-e 
idol  and  the  populace. 

The  twelfth  and  last  day  of  the  feast  was  the  great  car-drawing  da).  By  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  people  on  foot  or  in  ox  or  horse-bandies  began  pouring  in  from 
all  sides,  until  the  lanes,  roads  and  broad  rice-fields  on  two  sides  of  the  temple 
swarmed  with  more  than  ten  thousand  people.  The  air  grew  blue  with  the  smoke  of 
hundreds  of  fires,  where  on  every  hand  food  was  being  cooked  in  the  open  air  for  the 
idol.  Only  the  steam  or  odour  is  acceptable  to  the  god,  so  the  cooked  rice  is  carried 
home,  or  given  to  the  priests  or  to  mendicants,  which  is  considered  a  work  of  merit.  The 
low  caste  people  cannot  be  allowed  even  to  enter  the  court  of  the  temple  and  make  their 
own  offerings  ;  some  high-caste  person  must  carry  the  food  in  and  present  it  for  them, 
bringing  it  back  afterwards  to  the  donor.  To  the  large  temple-tank  hundreds  of  people 
go  to  drink  the  muddy,  stagnant  holy  waters  ;  was'i  away  their  sins  by  bathing  their 
bodies;  and  wash  their  clothes  preparatory  to  making  their  ofterings.  In  the  same 
tank  the  heated  oxen  stand,  cooling  their  bodies  and  being  washed  by  their  owners. 

After  a  time  the  cavadies  began  to  arrive.  These  are  fantastic  wooden  frames 
decked  with  flowers,  peacock-feathers  and  tinsel,  carried  on  the  head  and  shoulders 


28 


An  Annual  Feud. 


HIiNDUS    BATHING. 


of  the  individual  from  his  house  to  the 

temple,  in  performance    of   a   vow  in 

time  of  sickness.     The  bearer  prepares 

for   the   ceremony   by  some    days   of 

fasting.     He    is    accompanied    by    a 

band  of  music,  and  comes  whirling  and 

dancing  as  if  possessed  with  a  spirit. 

The  people  suppose  him  to  be  filled 

with  the  spirit  of  the  god,  and  so  to 

be   specially  holy ;    but    alas   for   the 

holiness  of  which  this  is  a  type  !     A 

year  ago  a  quarrel  took  place  between 

a  cavady  bearer   from  Batticotta  and 

one  from  Anikotty ;  and  it  was  rumoured  that  the  quarrel  would  be  renewed  this 

year.     In  the  middle  of  the  festival  shouts  were  heard,  and  thousands  upon  thousands 

of  people  left  the  temple  and  the  idols  and  rushed  to  the  scene  of  action.     It  was  a 

stampede  such  as  I  have  never  before  witnessed.     Instantly,  as  it  seemed,  four  hundred 

or  more  Batticotta  men,  seizing  sticks  from  the  nearest  fences,  began  to  assault  about 

half  as  many  Anikotty  men,  and  before  they  could  be  separated  several  were  severely 

wounded.     These  were  brought  bleeding  to  our  dispensary,  and  my  brother  and  a 

native  Christian  physician  were  left  to  undo  the  work  which  heathen  passion  had  done. 

In  the  case  of  one  poor  man  it  was  all  in  vain  ;  he  died  the  next  day.     We  have  used 

this  as  a  warning  and  a  sermon  in  many  of  our  talks  with  the  young  people,  who  admit 

at  once  that  going  to  the  temples  and  washing  in  sacred  waters  do  not  make  the  heart 

holy.     The  older  heathen,  however,  do  not  seem  troubled  by  what  was  done,  but  hope 

that  the  excitement  will  be  twice  as  great  next  year.     It  is  not  strange  that  those  who 

worship  such  cruel  gods  and  goddesses  should  in  a  measure  become  like  them. 

To  return  to  the  car-drawing :  The  huge  old  car  on  cumbrous  wheels  had  been 
decorated  with  flowers  and  flags  and  cloth  ;  the  small  brass  idol  was  placed  within, 
and  many  Brahmans  attended,  to  burn  incense  before  it.  Eighty  men  or  more 
seized  hold  of  the  two  thick  ropes,  and  thus  it  was  drawn  around  the  temple, 
followed  by  rolling  devotees.  When  half-way  round  it  paused  before  a  pile  of  a 
thousand  cocoa-nuts,  which  one  man  had  vowed  to  break  with  his  right  hand  before  tljc 
idol  by  throwing  them  one  after  another  on  a  stone.  This  finished,  the  car  returned 
to  its  place,  and  the  people  began  to  disperse. 

But  what  were  our  Christians  doing  during  all  this  time?  Over  thirty  of  the  leading 
Christian  workers  from  this  and   the  neighbouring  stations,   by  our  invitation,  met 


Good  Seed  Sown. 


29 


together  at  our  house  in  the  morning,  and  after  a  season  of  earnest  prayer  for  God's 
help  and  blessing,  they  took  bundles  of  tracts,  handbills  and  books,  and  went  out  in 
various  directions  on  the  different  roads  and  lanes  leading  from  the  temple,  in  order 
to  meet  and  talk  with  the  people  on  their  return,  and  sell  or  give  away  tracts  and 
books.  Then  we,  with  five  prominent  native  Christians,  took  our  stand  on  the  veranda 
of  the  medical  room,  which  is  just  across  the  way  from  the  temple,  and  where  mats 
and  benches  had  been  arranged.  We  opened  all  the  stops  of  our  organ,  and  began 
singing  praise  to  Ciirist  in  a  strong,  full  chorus.  Soon  a  crowd  of  from  three  to  four 
hundred  people  gathered  around  us.  Our  method  was  to  explain  a  verse  of  a  lyric, 
and  then  sing  ;  then  another  verse  and  sing,  and  so  on.  We  kept  this  up  for  four 
hours,  a  large  and  interested  crowd  being  by  us  all  the  time.  We  noticed  in  our 
audience  Brahmans,  Sivite  preachers,  and  the  editor  of  a  Sivite  paper ;  all  listened 
respectfully  without  a  particle  of  disturbance,  and  some  faces  here  and  there  showed 
marked  interest.  Our  book-stand  near  by  was  doing  a  good  business  in  selling  tracts 
and  portions  of  the  Bible ;  and  word  came  back  from  several  companies  that  they  had 
nearly  sold  out  their  tracts,  and  that  more  were  wanted. 

Our  workers  were  thoroughly  aroused,  and  spoke  and  sang  their  very  best.  One 
good  Christian  from  a  neighbouring  church,  who  had  said  in  the  morning  that  he  did 
not  think  it  was  of  much  use  to  try  this  kind  of  work — the  festival  had  gone  on  for  a 
long  time,  and  not  much  if  anything  had  ever  been  done  about  it — now,  talking  to 
his  audience,  became  so  interested  that  he  refused  the  offer  of  lunch  ;  and  at  night  went 
away  declaring  that  this  was  just  the  way  to  do,  and  that  next  year  many  Christians 
from  all  the  stations  must  come,  and  we  would  have  meetings  on  five  or  six  sides. 
The  Christians  returned  encouraged,  and  we  could  see  that  the  effort  had  done  them 
good,  if  no  one  else.  All  seemed  surprised  at  the  readiness  with  which  the  people 
bought  religious  books  and  tracts ;  and  many  were  seen  reading  them  in  companies 
under  trees  and  in  their  bandies,  on  their  way  home.  In  all,  during  this  one  day.,  Uvo 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  fourteen  tracts,  small  books,  and  portions  of  Scripture  were  sold 
by  us  and  our  helpers,  and  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighteen  were  given  away. 

May  the  seed  sown  by  the  wayside,  with  God's  blessing,  spring  up  and  bring  forth 
fruit  to  His  glory  ! 


\ 


A   TAMIL   "  BOOK." 


CHAPTER  VIL 

Hopeful  Signs. 

]\Tanepy,  October  T,\st,  iSSl. 
HILE  we  long  and  pray  and  hope  that  God's  Spirit  may  be  poured  out 
among  us  in  an  unusual  manner,  yet  it  seems  more  probable  that  the 
blessing  will  come  quietly  through  the  widespread  and  faithful  teachmg 
of  the  truth,  and  the  inclining  of  more  and  more  hearts  to  accept  it.  I 
confess  that  I  find  myself  greatly  perplexed  to  understand  the  mental  processes  of,  for 
example,  our  older  English-speaking  school-boys.  For  a  year,  in  day-school, 
Sabbath-school,  and  in  private  talks,  they  have  heard  the  truth,  and  have  understood 
it.  They  can  tell  the  story  of  Christ's  life  nearly  as  well  as  I  can.  They  have  had 
the  nature  of  prayer,  the  duty  of  faith  and  repentance,  clearly  explained. 

Why  then  do  they  not  become  Christians?  They  have  not  yet  given  up  their  old 
beliefs.  These  beliefs  are  ingrained  into  their  literature,  their  history,  their  song,  their 
every-day  duty  and  thought.  They  say  that,  although  we  are  right,  there  is  much  that 
is  right  with  them  also.  They  are  bound  to  their  friends  by  the  strongest  ties,  and  the 
fetters  are  riveted  by  caste.     It  is  a  terrible  wrench  to  break  away  from  all. 

All  these  things,  and  many  more,  bear  on  the  probable  future.  Yet  of  one  thing 
we  are  sure,  that  the  steady,  faithful,  earnest  teaching  of  God's  own  word  in  church 


Nicodemiis  in  Ceylon. 


31 


and  school,  in  public  and  private,  must  be  followed 
by  a  steady  growth  of  conscientiousness  and  love 
for  truth  throughout  the  community,  and  by  a 
larger  and  larger  number  of  individuals  turning 
"^V?-,,^^  to  God.  The  Gospel  has  all  along  in  the 
^'•^'^       past  been  moulding  this  whole  community. 

Is  it  nothing  that  we  have  almost  the  whole 
educational  work  in  our  hands,  that  nearly 
every  house  is  open  to  our  visits  and  those 
of  the  catechists  and  Bible-women ;  that  the 
attendance  at  church  and  Sabbath-school  is 
increasing ;  that  moonlight,  village,  and  Sab- 
bath afternoon  meetings  are  so  largely  attended  ? 
All  the  educated  men  and  women,  and  the 
older  children  in  the  schools,  are  ashamed  of 
the  ceremonies  connected  with  the  Sivite  worship  and  the  great  festivals,  and  do  not 
participate  in  them.  All  through  the  villages  there  are  men  and  women  who  do  not 
rub  ashes  or  visit  heathen  temples,  and  many  of  these  in  their  hearts  wor^hip  the  true 
God  and  try  to  serve  Him,  but,  like  Nicodeinus,  they  fear  to  confess  Him  openly. 
Yet  frequently  such  persons  boldly  confess  on  their  death-beds  that  they  are  Christians, 
and  we  trust  many  names  not  enrolled  on  our  church  books  will  be  found  in  the 
"  Lamb's  Book  of  Life." 

We  rejoice  and  thank  God  for  all  this,  and  yet.  with  you,  we  are  not  satisned,  but 
we  long  with  almost  a  painful  earnestness  for  more  to  come  to  Christ. 


IIINUUS    WuRSHU'lMiNG    AN    IDOL. 


sasu^o^^  ©'^^ 


cj^QJ^ 


JOHN    III.    16,    IN    T.AMIL. 


ERACELETS,    ANKLETS,   AND    RINO. 


CHAPTER  VI 1 1. 

Mutthuchardie's  Money-box. 

Manepy,  A^oveniher  ilth,  iSSl. 

OULD  you  like  to  hear  a  story  of  what  a  I'amil  boy  did  one  Sabbath  in 
church,  and  what  came  of  it  ? 

SDme  years  ago,  the  native  Christians  of  this  mission  in  Jaffna,  Ceylon, 
formed  themselves  into  a  missionary  society  for  the  purpose  of  sending 
teachers  and  preachers  to  the  people  of  seven  small  islands  lying  west  of  Jaffna. 

A  few  Sabbaths  ago,  in  Panditerippu,  the  native  preacher  was  urging  his  people 
to  give  towards  this  society.  Some  of  the  congregation  looked  indifferent,  thinking 
perhaps  ihey  had  enough  to  do  to  su])port  their  own  schools  and  church  ;  but  one 
little  boy,  named  Mutthuchardie,  sitting  close  by  his  mother,  was  listening  very  atten- 
tively, and  when  he  heard  that  there  were  many  little  children  on  these  islands  who 
had  no  schools,  no  kind  teachers,  no  books,  as  he  had — that,  worst  of  all,  they  had 
no  Sabbath-schools,  no   Bibles,  and  did  not  know  of  the  Saviour  whom   he   loved — 

he  looked  up  (juickly  in  his  mother's  face  and  whis- 
.^  i:)ered,  "  Oh,  my  money-box  !     You  said   I  might  do 

whatever  I  jjleased  with  it.  Oh,  mother  !  give  it, 
give  it ! "  The  mother  was  astonished  that  her 
little  boy  had  understood  all  the  preacher  had  said. 
She  now  began  to  listen  more  carefully  herself;  and 


"  A  Little  Child  shall  Lead  Them. 


a 


every  now  and  then,  as  if  to  emphasize 
the  speaker's  words,  she  felt  a  soft  little 
pinch  on  her  arm,  and  heard  an  eager 
voice  close  beside  her  whisper,  "  Give 
it,  give  it,  mother."  And,  along  with 
the  words  of  the  sermon,  some  other 
words,  spoken  long  ago,  kept  coming 
to  her  mind :  "  Whosoever  shall  not 
receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little 
child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein." 

The  little  boy  had  his  request,  for 
the  next  Sabbath,  when  the  bag  came 
around,  he  droj^ped  into  it  two  little 
fists  quite  full  of  cents,  half-cents, 
quarter- cents,  and  eighth-cents  ;  for  we 
have  such  small  coins  here,  where  so 
many  people  are  poor  and  money  is 
scarce.  But,  when  the  bag  came  to 
his  mother,  great  was  the  child's  sur- 
prise to  see  her  quietly  slip  off  her  two 
gold  bracelets  from  her  arms  and  drop 
them  both  into  the  bag.  They  had 
come  down  to  her  from  her  mother  and 
grandmother  and  were  part  of  her 
marriage-portion,  and  worth  ^5.  But 
the  words  of  her  only  child  had  rung 
in  her  ears  all  the  week,  and  she  said 
to  herself :  "  I  also  will  give  to  God 
and  His  cause  something  precious." 

Now,  as  of  old,  the  words  of  the 
prophet  are  true  :  "  And  a  little  child 
shall  lead  them." 

"  And  Jesus  called  a  little  child  unto 
Him,  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them. 
And  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  except 
ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven." 


A  CHILDREN'S  HYMN  IN  THE  TAMIL  LANGUAGE. 
Subject :  Praise  to  Christ  who  ivas  born  in  Bethlehem. 


«        Chorus. 


^-i 


iV    iN    ,S 


iszi 


-7^-X: 


lat  time. 


I      -^nd  time..  \ 


>»— hS-; 


Verse 


iii  time. 


2nd  time. 


17     '•     ',/I=^ 


si^^ll 


-N-N- 


Js — V 


j  1st  time.  I  2nd  time.     \ 


35=z>r 


"g 9' 


-N^S- 


— 0         G>- 


;y 


Sound  of  the  Tamil  words  in  E?io/ish. 


Chorus. 

Bet -t ha- la -y el  per-un-tha-va-day 
Pot-te  ihu-lhee  nian-a-may.     en-num, 

Vekse  I. 
S3d-du-vat-thi-um  par-dil-tharn-da 
Siid-du-va  xiil-la-var.     eiig-kay, 


Thai  1 -mi -111 -la  thi-vi-iit-til, 
Thal-li  sJk-ka-ia-nar.     ent^-kay, 

Versh  2 
Sing-kas-san-am  veet-te-duk-kum 
Ther-van  min-than-ar.     eng-kay 
Pang-kam-ut-ta,  pas-ut  Ihod-de-leel 
Pai-dui-thc-diik-l<ci--ar.     eng-kay. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Siviti?  Preacher. 

Manepy,  February  jtk,  1882. 

THINK  our  heavenly 
Father,  when  He  allows 
us  to  feel  peculiar  trials 
and  discouragements, 
sends  also  peculiar  encouragements  to 
counterbalance  them.  Such  was  your 
letter  to  me  this  morning,  for,  truly,  I 
was  weary  in  body  and  mind  with  the 
conflicts  of  a  week  which  has  been  the 
hardest  I  have  ever  known  in  Jatfna. 
I  think  God  knew  I  should  need  help, 
and  so  put  all  those  loving,  helpful 
words  into  your  heart  for  me  a  month 
ago — another  proof  of  His  great, 
tender,  ever- watchful  care.  I  thank 
Him,  over  and  over,  with  glad  tears, 
for  you  and  for  loving  Christian  hearts 
who  are  praying  for  us  and  for  Jaffna. 
We  need  your  prayers  more  than 
ever.  Just  when  in  all  our  schools 
and  villages  there  was  unusual  interest, 
and  we  seemed  almost  on  the  eve  of  a 
blessing,  what  should  Satan  do  but 
raise  up  what  the  heathen  call  a  learned 
man,  a  holy  man,  a  great  Sivite  preacher, 
who    IS   a    most    bigoted,    bitter,    and 


A    HOLY    .MAN    AMONG   THE    HINDUS. 


3^  Sivite  Objections  Met. 

unceasing  enemy  of  Christianity  ?  He  has  sprung  up  quite  suddenly,  like  a  mushroom 
in  the  night,  and  is  going  about  the  country  breathing  out  blasphemies  and  misrepre- 
sentations of  Christianity,  and  abuse  of  missionaries  and  Christians.  Preaching  is  a 
new  thing  to  the  Sivites.  Their  priests  never  preach,  their  religion  consists  in  forms 
and  ceremonies,  and  knows  nothing  of  spiritual  worship  or  of  edification.  His  plan  of 
preaching  he  has  copied  from  the  missionaries.  Because  this  is  something  new,  and 
because  he  appeals  to  men's  worst  passions — pride,  hatred,  selfishness — he  draws  great 
crowds.  I  suppose  he  has  preached  ten  or  fifteen  times  in  the  last  few  weeks  to 
audiences  of  from  one  to  three  hundred.  So  long  as  he  attends  to  all  the  ceremonial 
purifications,  bathes  his  body  if  he  touches  a  low-caste  man,  eats  neither  flesh  nor  salt, 
and  can  speak  in  high-flowing  Tamil,  which  four-fifths  of  his  audience  cannot  under- 
stand— so  long  as  he  does  all  this  the  people  think  he  is  a  very  great  man,  and  the 
temple  managers  throw  open  their  doors  to  him. 

This  preacher  has  spoken  twice  in  the  Alanepy  temple.  He  began  at  seven  in  the 
evening  and  continued  till  nearly  twelve  o'clock — this  is  his  custom.  Do  you  wish  to 
know  what  he  said?  These  are  his  principal  points  against  Christianity:  The  God  of 
the  Christians  is  not  omnipotent,  for  he  took  six  days  to  make  the  world,  when  it 
might  have  been  made  in  one.  Jehovah  is  not  omniscient,  for  He  put  Adam  and  Eve 
in  the  garden  of  Eden  with  Satan,  and  He  ought  to  have  known  that  they  would  sin : 
because  He  did  not  prevent  their  sinning,  He  is  not  all-powerful  nor  all-holy,  and 
therefore  Satan  is  stronger  than  God.  The  angels  sinned,  and  fell  from  heaven  : 
therefore  heaven  is  a  place  of  temptation  and  sin,  and  hell  is  the  better  place  of  the 
two.  God  is  not  all-good,  because  He  saves  only  Christians.  It  is  said  that  Christ 
came  to  bring  peace  to  the  earth  ;  but  at  His  birth  Herod  killed  thousands  of  infants, 
while  He  did  nothing  to  prevent  it,  but  ran  away  to  Egypt  to  hide. 

You  can  imagine  what  an  effect  these  and  similar  things  would  have  upon  a  crowd 
of  the  low  and  ignorant  at  home.  How  much  greater  is  the  effect  on  the  seething, 
ignorant,  and  unreasoning  masses  here  !  His  last  talk  was  on  Saturday  night ;  and  on 
Sabbath  morning  we  found  our  Sabbath-school  boys  full  of  his  arguments.  We 
thought  that,  as  wise  doctors,  we  should  take  the  disease  in  hand  at  once  ;  so, 
after  hastily  going  over  the  lesson,  we  told  them  they  might  ask  questions ;  and  for 
half  an  hour  or  longer  we  answered  one  after  another,  until  they  seemed  to  see  that 
there  was  another  and  better  view  on  all  the  points.  We  carried  them  with  us  in  every 
step,  and  never  left  a  point  until  they  understood  it.  It  was  the  same  at  Arnikotty, 
where  we  teach  a  Sabbath-school  class  at  half-past  ten  o'clock,  and  at  Navaly,  where  we 
teach  one  at  three  o'clock,  in  this  way  we  met,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  between 
forty  and  fifty  upper-class  boys  whose  minds   are  in  a   formative  state,  and  who  are 


The  Sivite  Mistaken. 


17 


A    MAN-EATER. 


peculiarly  susceptible  of  impressions. 
The  next  few  days  we  visited  some  of 
our  large  English  schools  ;  and,  being 
prepared,  we  took  up  the  Sivite 
preacher's  points  one  by  one,  and 
answered  them.  We  were  surprised 
to  see  how  full  they  were  of  his  sceptical 
teaching,  and  how  "  men  love  darkness 
rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds 
are  evil." 

We  told  them  there  were  two  poweis 
contending  for  their  souls  -  good  and 
evil ;  that  they  might  know  which  was 
good,  because  it  was  always  unselfish, 
and  the  evil,  because  it  was  always 
selfish.  We  told  them  how  much  had  been  given  and  done  for  them^  freely  and 
unselfishly  by  Christians,  and  asked  if  they  could  show  a  parallel  in  Sivism.  We  told 
them  that  the  teacher  who  sent  them  away  with  new  reverence  and  love  for  God,  with 
new  longings  after  a  holy  life,  a  determination  to  fight  against  sin,  was  their  truest 
friend,  and  asked  if  they  left  the  Sivite  meetings  with  these  feelings.  We  took  up  the 
great  problem  of  why  God  permitted  sin,  and  tried  to  explain  it  as  best  we  could,  and 
show  how  it  was  better  and  grander  for  us  to  personally,  freely,  gladly  choose  the 
right  and  refuse  the  wrong,  than  to  be  mere  machines  compelled  to  do  right  without 
will  or  choice.  We  tried  to  meet  the  other  points,  also  ;  but  it  was  a  hard  task, 
because  the  tide  against  us  and  Christianity  was  so  strong.  Think  for  yourself  what  it 
would  be  to  go  into  a  school  of  one  hundred,  all  but  half-a-dozen  of  them  strong 
Sivites,  from  Sivite  homes,  all  bristling  with  objections,  and  whether  your  heart  would 
not  be  faint  and  trembling.  My  sister  was  the  strongest  of  us  all.  She  has  a 
wonderful  way  of  winning  the  love  and  trust  of  the  older  boys,  and  in  these  days 
her  whole  soul  has  been  in  what  she  said  ;  and  it  was  a  strange  sight  to  see  tears 
glistening  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  were  almost  men,  as  she  pictured  the  grandeur 
of  a  life  devoted  to  God,  urging  them  to  choose  that  life,  and  live  not  for  self  but 
for  Jesus. 

There  was  one  cheering  circumstance  :  the  Sivite  preacher  had  said  among  other 

things,  "  The  missionaries  do  not  really  care  for  you  ;  they  are  not  your  true  friends,"  <S:c. 

Over  and  over  again,  however,  the   teachers  and   the  boys,  and  even  bitter  heathens, 

have  assured  us  that  he  was  mistaken  ;  that  he  did   not   know  us  ;  that  everybody  in 

4* 


38 


A  Hisrh-caste  Audience. 


Manepy  knows  that  we  really  love  the  people,  and  are  their  friends.  I  think  God  has 
blessed  us  in  winning  the  confidence  and  love  of  this  people.  To  His  dear  name  be 
all  the  praise.  I  realize  more  than  ever  the  importance  of  character  to  support  our 
words,  and  I  am  resolved  to  be  doubly  careful  in  all  my  words  and  actions,  that  in 
everything  I  may  honour  Him.  My  sister  says  :  "Our  work  for  a  few  days  has  been 
in  sucking  the  poison  out  of  the  veins  of  *^hose  who  have  been  bitten  by  the  serpent ; 
and  we  must  keep  on,  day  by  day ,  and  week  by  week,  until  it  is  thoroughly  done." 

We  are  planning  to  have  some  of  the  best  speakers  in  Jaffna  go  round  to  the  central 
points  in  the  field  and  hold  large  open-air  meetings,  answering  the  Sivite's  arguments. 
There  is  much  work  for  us  in  the  future,  for  we  cannot  know  just  what  his  movements 
may  bring  about,  or  whether  others  will  join  or  copy  him  ;  but  if  we  will  be  true  soldiers 

we  must  contest  every  inch  of  ground,  and  the  sight 
of  the  enemy  will  only  rouse  us  to  fresh  endeavour. 
We  are  on  the  winning  side  ;  there  is  no  fear  of 
the  result ;  but  the  thing  that  troubles  us  is  the 
harm  that  may  come  meanwhile  to  some  of  these 
boys  and  girls  who  are  not  wise  enough  to  distin- 
guish the  false  from  the  true. 

Whether  it  was  that  by  sucking  the  poison  from 
others  we  have  had  a  touch  of  it  ourselves,  or 
whether  it  was  being  out  many  days  in  the  midday 
sun,  when  the  thermometer  runs  up  to  140° — 
whatever  was  the  cause,  last  night  and  this  morning 
I  was  feeling  very  tired,  and,  I  confess,  a  little 
desponding ;  but  your  letter  came  to  do  me  a 
world  of  good. 

Later. 

I  think  this  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Sivites  is  resulting  in  good  to  the 
Christians.  It  is  stirring  them  up  to  be  more  prayerful  and  earnest,  and  to  watch 
more  carefully  over  their  lives.  I  do  not  think  they  are  at  all  affected  by  the  arguments 
brought  forward — they  went  all  over  the  ground  for  themselves  before  they  became 
Christians — but,  with  us,  they  are  troubled  for  the  results  such  preaching  may  have  on 
the  young.  We  arranged  two  meetings  for  the  6th  and  7th.  Two  of  our  best  native 
workers,  men  of  recognized  ability  and  learning,  came  for  both  nights.  One  meeting 
was  held  in  Manepy,  and  one  at  Arnikotty.  The  total  attendance  was  between  two 
hundred  and  fifty  and  three  hundred,  a  majority  of  whom  were  high-caste,  educated 
people.     The  low-caste  people — men  women,  and  children— were,  in  great  numbers, 


THE    BANYAN    TREE. 


Dr.  Poor. 

busy  in  the  harvest  fields,  where  the 
rice  harvest  has  just  begun,  and  where 
they  work  during  the  moonlight.  So 
our  audience  was  a  thinking  one  of  the 
higher  classes.  Two  addresses  in  each 
meeting  were  candid,  careful  answers 
to  questions ;  the  third  gave  some 
strong  reasons  in  favour  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  and  the  fourth  was  an  earnest 
appeal  to  seek  salvation  and  a  Saviour 
now. 

We  were  much  interested  at  these 
meetings  in  noting  the  line  of  argu- 
ment often  followed  by  the  native 
ministers.  One  of  them,  at  one  of  the 
meetings,  laying  his  hand  on  the  Bible 
and  addressing  his  audience,  said  to 
them,  "Many  of  you  do  not  know 
what  is  contained  within  the  lids  of 
this  book,  but  you  do  know  the  lives 
of  the  missionaries  who  for  so  many 
years  have  gone  out  and  in  among 
you."  He  referred  to  the  time  when 
the  cholera  was  prevalent  in  the  peninsula,  and  asked  his  hearers  to  remember  what 
happened  at  that  time.  He  said,  "  Many  of  the  people  were  panic-stricken  and  left 
the  plague-smitten  districts  ;  frequently  the  relatives  of  those  wlio  were  ill  fled  and 
forsook  them,  leaving  them  to  their  fate.  But  what,"  he  asked,  "  did  the  missionaries 
do  at  that  time  ^  Did  they  forsake  those  who  were  in  such  distress  ?  By  no  means  ; 
they  ministered  to  the  sick,  they  sat  by  the  bedside  of  the  dying,  they  buried  the 
dead,  they  counted  not  their  lives  dear  to  them  if  so  be  they  might  render  the 
necessary  service.  One  of  the  missionaries,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Poor,  after  the  most 
incessant  and  prolonged  service  to  the  sick^  at  the  last  fell  a  victim  to  the  disease  and 
died.  His  latest  breath  was  spent  in  praising  Christ."  The  speaker  asked,  "  Is  it  a 
good  religion  or  a  bad  that  can  produce  such  a  result  as  that?" 

This  same  Dr.  Poor  had  been  for  some  time  stationed  in  the  Manepy  district.  The 
speaker  asked,  "  Is  there  a  house  in  this  district  which  Dr.  Poor  did  not  visit  over 
and  over  again?"     He  told  many  touching  incidents  of  this  beloved  missionary,  who 


GIRLS    DRAWING    WATER. 


40  The  Sivitc's  Labour  in  Vain. 

laboured  in  Jaffna  for  over  forty  years.  Among  other  things  he  related  how  that  on 
one  occasion  Dr.  Poor  had  been  out  all  day  visiting  in  the  villages,  and  when  returning 
in  the  evening  lost  his  way.  He  called  to  some  one  who  was  passing  by  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  show  him  the  way.  The  man  went  to  get  a  torch,  and  when  he 
returned  found  Dr.  Poor  on  his  knees,  praying  aloud  for  a  blessing  on  Jaffna.  The 
speaker  asked,  "  Is  it  a  good  religion  or  a  bad  that  can  make  a  man  forget  his  weari- 
ness and  hunger  in  the  earnestness  of  his  desire  for  a  blessing  on  the  people  of  another 
race?" 

The  speaker  referred  to  the  boarding  schools,  and  said,  "  You  feel  quite  safe  in 
allowing  your  daughters  to  be  under  the  care  of  the  missionaries,  but  would  you  trust 
your  daughters  to  the  care  of  a  Brahmin  ?  You  know  you  would  not,  not  even  for  a 
single  night.  Is  it  a  good  religion  or  a  bad  that  can  make  men  moral  and  trustworthy  ? 
You  always  trust  the  word  of  a  missionary,  but  you  do  not  trust  each  other.  When 
you  go  on  a  journey^  you  often  prefer  to  leave  your  jewellery  with  the  missionary 
rather  than  with  your  own  relatives.  Is  it  a  good  religion  or  a  bad  that  can  make  men 
truthful  and  honest  ?  Have  we  not  before  our  eyes  the  proof  that  Christianity  has  the 
power  to  do  what  Hinduism  and  Buddhism  have  shown  themselves  unable  to  do,  to 
change  the  heart  and  to  make  the  man  a  new  creature  ? "  The  native  minister 
continued  for  some  time  in  this  strain,  and  his  words,  appealing  directly  to  things 
which  all  knew,  produced  a  great  effect. 

On  account  of  the  harvest,  we  shall  delay  further  meetings  till  the  new  moon. 
People  who  would  not  otherwise  come  may  perhaps  be  attracted  to  hear  objections 
answered,  and  so  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  earnest  appeals  on  behalf  of  the 
truth.  Will  you  not  pray  that  the  result  may  be  a  new  awakening  in  religious  matters, 
and  a  real  turning  to  God?  Oh,  that  He  would  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him 
by  bringing  many  new  souls  into  the  kingdom  of  His  dear  Son  ! 

March  1 8. — I  think  God  has  heard  our  prayer.  Our  meetings  seem  to  have  affected 
the  sober-minded  people,  and  the  temple  manager  nas  said  that  he  will  not  invite  the 
Sivite  preacher  to  speak  again  ;  that  he  only  deals  in  abuse,  and  that  the  missionaries 
are  the  true  friends  of  the  people,  and  ought  not  to  be  disturbed  in  their  good  work, 
though  they  may  be  wrong  in  their  religion.  One  boy  who  has  tried  to  induce  others 
to  stay  away  from  Sabbath-school,  came  yesterday  to  say  he  had  done  wrong,  and 
he  was  very  sorry. 

Best  of  all,  the  children  have  been  roused  to  work  for  Jesus.  Last  week  several 
came  to  us  privately,  asking  us  to  kneel  down  and  pray  with  them  for  their  class- 
mates, who,  they  feared,  were  being  drawn  away  from  Christ.  We  had  a  number  of 
little  seasons   of  private    prayer  with    them.      Last    Sabbath,  in    the   afternoon,  the 


Cliild-zvorkers  for  Christ. 


41 


children  prayed  specially  for  their  friends  ;  and  at  four  o'clock  three  little  companies, 
of  their  own  accord,  went  into  the  villages  to  hold  children's  meetings.  One  company 
had  eighteen,  and  another  twenty-four  children,  as  an  audience.  They  came  back 
very  much  encouraged.  I  felt  that  Jesus  here,  as  of  old,  had  taken  a  child  and  set 
him  in  the  midst,  and  was  telling  us  to  be  more  child-like,  earnest,  hopeful;  and  I 
remembered  that  other  Bible  saying,  '' If  these  should  hold  their  peace,  the  very- stones 
would  cry  out." 

Oh,  that  our  lives  and  words  may  more  clearly  ring  out  the  glad  cry,  "  Hosanna  ! 
Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  ! " 


CHAPTER  X. 

Little  Thankam. 

Manepy,  April  2^th,    1S82. 

ID  you  ever  see  an  idol  temple,  and  a 
great  many  people  boiling  rice  for  the 
god  ?  This  is  just  what  we  see  every 
day  in  Ceylon. 

Just  across  the  road  from  our  home  here  in  Manepy  stands  a  large  idol  temple 
dedicated  to  the  god  Pulliar.  This  god  has  the  head  of  an  elephant.  He  is  called 
the  god  of  wisdom,  and  when  heathen  mothers  take  their  children  to  school,  they 
always  bring  them  first  to  an  image  of  this  elephant-god,  that  he  may  give  wisdom  to 
the  child  and  make  it  a  good  scholar.  This  is  the  first  god  which  a  great  many 
children  are  taught  to  worship.  What  a  pity  that  they  do  not  know  of  Jesus,  the 
friend  of  little  children  ! 

In  this  temple  there  is  a  man  called  a  Pandahdam,  whose  business  is  to  bathe  the 
stone  and  brass  images  with  milk,  cocoanut  water,  and  perfumes  daily.  He  also 
receives  offerings  presented  to  the  god.  Now  this  man  has  one  little  daughter,  and  it 
is  of  her  that  I  want  to  tell  you.  Her  name  is  Thankam  Mutthu,  or  Thankam  "  for 
short."  The  meaning  of  the  name  is  Gold-pearl,  and  the  child  deserves  the  name,  for 
she  is  the  head  scholar  among  sixty  girls  in  our  station  girls'  day-school.  Since  she 
began  to  come  to  school  she  has  regularly  attended  the  Sabbath-school,  and  learned 
many  Christian  hymns  and  Bible  verses.  Last  Christmas,  when  the  Sabbath-school 
children  were  examined,  she  was  one  of  three  girls  who  could  say  the  Golden  texts  for  the 
whole  year,  without  a  mistake.  How  many  children  in  the  home  land  could  do  that  ? 
She  received  a  prize — a  Tamil  New  Testament— from  the  Christmas  Tree.  When  she 
first  came  to  school  she  used  to  have  some  sacred  ashes,  the  marks  of  the  heathen  god, 
rubbed  on  her  forehead,  but  she  left  that  off  after  a  time,  and  she  studied  the  Bible  so 
well  that  she  could  repeat  the  whole  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew  without  prompting. 

Thankam's  Sabbath-school  teacher— a  very  lovely  native  Christian  woman — took  a 
great  interest  in  the  little  girl  ;  and  Thankam  would  steal  into  her  house  sometimes 


A  Brave  Child.  43 

and  beg  her  to  pray  with  her  and  teach  her  how  to  serve  Jesus.  She  feared  to  let  her 
father  and  mother  know  of  these  visits.  They  wanted  that  she  should  learn  to  read,  but 
ihey  did  not  want  her  to  become  a  Christian.  They  despise  the  Christians,  and  con- 
sider them  polluted  because  they  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper  with  the  low-caste 
people  who  have  joined  the  church.  They  were  so  very  particular  that,  when 
Thankam  came  home  from  school,  both  at  noon  and  at  night,  they  would  not  let 
her  come  into  the  house  till  she  had  bathed  her  whole  body  at  the  well.  They  were 
afraid  she  might  have  touched  a  low-caste  or  a  Christian  child  during  the  day, 
and  so  would  defile  the  house. 

As  Thankam  was  on  her  way  to  school  one  morning,  she  called  to  see  her  Sabbath- 
school  teacher.     While  she  was  there  she  said : 

"I  have  found  a  beautiful  verse;  it  says,  'When  my  father  and  my  mother  forsake 
me,  then  the  Lord  will  take  me  up.'     That  means  me,  doesn't  it  ?  " 

Poor  child  !  she  did  not  know  how  soon  her  courage  would  be  put  to  the  test.  Her 
father  had  seen  her  go  into  a  Christian  house.  He  hurried  to  the  gate  and  called  out, 
loudly  and  angrily : 

'■^  Thankam,  Thankam,  come  to  me." 

Thankam  looked  out  and  saw  him  cutting  a  long  switch  from  the  hedge.  He 
seemed  to  be  in  a  terrible  passion,  and  was  uttering  the  worst  kind  of  threats  and 
abuse. 

The  poor  frightened  child  clung  to  her  teacher,  and  the  teacher  went  out  and  begged 
that  he  would  not  whip  the  child  ;  but  it  did  no  good.  He  grew  more  and  more 
angry  every  moment,  and  nothing  could  soothe  him.  He  dragged  the  child  out  into 
the  road  and  there  he  whipped  her  very  cruelly.  The  women  and  children  who  were 
standing  near  could  not  help  weeping  as  they  saw  him  ;  they  all  felt  very  sad  as  the 
little  girl  went  slowly  away,  and  they  knew  not  what  would  become  of  her. 

For  a  whole  long  month  Thankam's  father  and  mother  kept  her  shut  up  in  the 
house,  and  no  Christian  was  allowed  to  see  her  or  speak  to  her.  How  I  wearied  to 
see  the  dear  little  face  !  But  it  was  of  no  use ;  to  try  to  see  her  would  only  have 
made  her  parents  angry  and  made  Thankam  suffer  more ;  so  we  and  her  Sabbath- 
school  teacher  who  loved  her,  and  the  Christian  girls  in  the  day-school,  told  Jesus  all 
about  it  and  asked  Him  to  help  her.     We  knew  that  He  could  and  would. 

After  a  time  the  father  and  mother  said  they  would  let  her  come  back  to  school  if 
she  would  rub  ashes  and  promise  not  to  be  a  Christian  ;  but  Jesus  must  have  helped 
her,  for  she  would  not  promise.  She  cried  so  much  that  at  last  her  father  and  mother 
relented  and  said,  "  Why  should  we  make  our  only  daughter  miserable  ?  "  So  they 
allowed  her  to  return  without  making  any  conditions. 


44  Thankavi  as  Pupil-teacher. 

You  would  have  hardly  known  her  when  she  came ;  she  looked  half  starved  and  so 
sad ;  but  as  soon  as  she  found  herself  among  us  you  ought  to  have  seen  her  face 
shine  with  joy  !  From  that  time  blessings  seem  to  have  followed  the  brave  little 
girl,  and  she  has  now  become  a  pupil-teacher  in  the  station  school. 

Will  you  not  pray  for  the  child  who  begged  so  hard  to  come  to  us,  and  for  the 
father  and  mother  who  are  serving  Satan  so  blindly  ? 


PTILLIAR,   THE   GOD   OF   WISDOM. 


CHAPTER  Xr. 

Second  Year's  Experience 

AT  THE  Great  Heathen  Festival. 

Manepy,  May  loM,  1882. 


ARLY  in 
the  morning 
b  o  ur  tent 
had  been  pitched 
in  our  compound 
very  near  the  temple ;  an  awning  had 
been  put  up  before  the  veranda  of  the 
medical-rooms,  comfortable  seats  pro- 
vided, and  two  bookstands  had  been 
arranged,  giving  us  in  all  four  preaching- 
places.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
about  twenty  Christians  gathered  together 
at  our  house,  and  after  prayer  for  God's 
blessing,  they  took  packages  of  tracts, 
Bible  portions,  &c.,  and  went  out  a  mile 
or  more  on  the  different  roads  to  begin 
their  day's  work.  My  brother,  with 
several  helpers,  took  charge  of  the  book- 
stands and  the  supply  of  the  sellers  ;  my 
sister,  with  a  chorus  of  twenty  children 
and  three  speakers,  took  the  tent ;  while 
the  other  workers  and  singers  came  with 
me  to  the  medical  veranda. 

At  a  {t\y  minutes  after  nine  we  were  all 
ready,  and  made  two  openings  in  our 
hedge  to  admit  the  people,  who  had  begun 
to  arrive  in  large  numbers.  Immediately 
from  fifty  to  a  hundred  people  came  into 
each  place  ;    but  we  had  not  spoken  or 


HINDUS    BATHING   AND   WORSHIFI'ING    MUD    IDOLS. 


46  The  Heathen  Festival  Declining. 

sung  many  minutes  before  we  noticed  a  commotion  in  the  road.  A  few  bitter  Sivites 
had  collected,  and,  placing  themselves  in  each  opening  in  the  hedge,  began  to  sing 
and  shout  at  the  top  of  their  voices,  at  the  same  time  declaring  that  no  one  should  go 
through  or  enter  our  yard.  At  my  side  of  the  compound  they  seated  a  number  of 
Sivites  right  across  the  opening,  and  at  the  other  side  they  filled  the  gap  with  thorns. 

Soon  a  crowd  of  hundreds  of  persons  had  collected  at  each  place,  attracted  by  the 
disturbance,  and  all  the  more  anxious  to  come  in  because  they  were  forcibly  prevented. 
Without  appearing  to  notice  them,  and  going  right  on  with  our  singing,  we  called  our 
coolies  and  said,  ^' Open  six  places  immediately  in  the  hedge."  It  was  done,  and 
our  opposers  seemed  rather  non-plussed,  for  they  saw  that  this  could  go  on  indefinitely, 
and  that  we  would  cut  down  the  whole  hedge  rather  than  give  up.  There  might  be  a 
handful  of  men  who  would  sit  all  day  in  the  burning  sand  to  stop  a  gap,  but  it  would 
need  a  thousand  to  encircle  a  whole  compound. 

Listeners  bejian  to  come  through  the  new  entrances,  and  after  a  little  while  the 
whole  crowd  which  had  collected  broke  away  in  a  body  and  came  pouring  in  upon  us. 
From  that  time  onward  we  spoke  and  sang  without  ceasing  to  solid  audiences  of  from 
two  to  four  hundred  people.  It  was  very  noticeable  that  they  stayed  longer  and 
listened  better  than  last  year.  They  enjoyed  the  speaking  and  singing,  and  seemed 
in  no  hurry  to  go.  I  was  also  struck  with  the  fact  that  they  were  not  Manepy  people. 
They  were  from  the  islands  and  distant  villages.  I  saw  almost  no  faces  in  the 
audience  that  I  had  seen  before,  and  perhaps  many  present  heard  something  of  the 
gospel  for  the  first  time.  There  was  very  little  disturbance.  The  general  feeling 
toward  us  seemed  to  be  a  very  kind  one.  I  knew  they  liked  what  we  said  ;  and  as  we 
had  opened  our  yard,  they  gladly  availed  themselves  of  it,  sitting  under  the  beautiful 
trees,  and  thanking  us  for  the  shade  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  This  insured  us 
good  audiences,  and  our  colporteurs  had  plenty  of  work  visiting  and  speaking  with  them. 

It  is  estimated  by  our  workers  that  one-third  of  the  people  did  not  go  to  the  temple 
to  worship  at  all,  but  spent  the  time  with  us  in  the  compound.  The  income  of  the 
temple  was  very  small  this  year — not  as  large  as  last  year.  A  reliable  man  gave  me 
the  various  items,  and  the  whole  came  to  less  than  Rs.  140,  the  total  gifts  of  ten 
thousand  people  ;  while  the  single  Christian  church  of  Batticotta  raised  at  the  thank- 
offering  meeting  Rs.  180.  Our  workers  are  quite  jubilant  over  the  day,  and  say  that, 
if  we  have  two  or  three  more  tents  and  preaching- places  next  year,  we  shall  absorb  a 
large  share  of  the  festival,  and  many  people  who  appear  to  be  coming  to  a  heathen 
festival  will  really  be  coming  to  a  gospel  meeting. 

I  want  to  tell  you  what  gave  me  the  most  pleasure  in  this  day's  experience  ;  it  was 
the  way  the  school-children  from  six  different  schools  came  voluntarily  to  help  us  sing 


yl    VoliDitary  Choir. 

I  wish  you  could  have  heard  their  clear  young  voices  ring  out  the 
words,  and  have  seen  the  interest  in  the  faces  of  those  large 
audiences,  many  of  whom  were  listening  to  those  sweet  Christian 
songs  for  the  first  time.  During  those  long  five  hours  some  of 
the  workers  became  tired,  and  asked  to  be  relieved  ;  but  the 
singing  children,  with  few  exceptions,  stayed  by  to  the  last,  and 
their  bright  faces,  so  eager  and  willing,  were  an  inspiration  to  us. 
At  the  close  they  came  and  said,  "  Oh,  Amma,  it  has  been  a  happy 
day."  They  were  having  their  first  taste  of  working  for  Christ, 
and  for  those  whom  He  loves.  Many  of  them  were  from  heathen 
families,  and  two  years  ago  would  have  worshipped  idols  them- 
selves. Some  of  them  were  children  of  the  Pandahdams,  who 
were  that  very  day  offering  incense  to  the  idol  god.  These  and 
other  children  have  been  severely  beaten  for  not  going  to  temples,  and  they  know  that 
they  may  be  again  ;  but  "  none  of  these  things  move  them."  The  love  of  Christ  has 
made  them  brave  and  strong. 

I  know  that  the  Good  Shepherd  will  care  for  them  through  the  rough  way,  and 
bring  them  into  His  fold  at  last.  Dear  friends  at  home,  pray  for  these  boys  and  girls 
that  they  may  be  faithful,  and  for  the  hundreds  of  other  boys  and  girls  who  have  not 
yet  given  their  hearts  to  Christ. 


A   TAMIL   GIRL 


CHAPTER   XII. 

A  Brief  Visit  to  the  Pulxey  Hills. 
I'uliiey  Hills,  South  India,  June  2^th,  1882. 

lET  me  tell  you,  first  of  all,  about  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Native 
Missionary  Society,  and  a  concert  of  Christian  songs  and  hymns  in  the 
Tamil  language.  Both  were  held  on  the  same  day — the  ist  of  June — 
H^'  at  Batticotta  Church,  the  largest  one  in  North  Ceylon.  All  the  morning 
the  church  and  the  mission  compounds  were  gay  with  the  arrival  of  crowds  of  happy 
people  in  hackeries,  horse-bandies,  ox-bandies,  and  on  foot.  The  men  were  dressed 
in  flowing  white  and  the  women  in  gay-coloured  robes,  and  there  were  a  great  many 
little  children.  These,  with  the  boarding-school  girls  all  in  white  like  vestal  virgins, 
and  the  young  men  from  the  Jaffna  College  with  the  unmistakable  wide-awake  air 
peculiar  to  college-boys,  made  a  very  pretty  picture. 

It  was  an  all-day  meeting,  and  both  the  forenoon  and  afternoon  sessions  were  full  of 
interest.  The  audience  was  a  fine  one — over  six  hundred  men,  four  hundred  women, 
and  several  hundred  children.  As  I  sat  on  the  platform,  to  play  the  organ,  I  had  a 
good  view  of  their  faces,  and  a  more  intelligent  gathering  of  people  I  never  saw.  Of 
the  one  thousand  and  twelve  communicants  in  this  mission  there  are  only  about  thirty 
who  cannot  read.  Most  of  the  audience  had  been  through  the  higher  schools,  and 
were  well  educated.  This  Native  Missionary  Society,  which  carries  on  work  in  the 
neighbouring  islands,  has  been  officered  and  managed  by  natives  for  the  past  thirty 
years.  It  is  ])robably  the  oldest  missionary  society  in  Ceylon  or  India  which  has  been 
supported  and  conducted  by  native  Christians  for  so  long  a  period.  For  the  past  year 
the  funds  raised,  mostly  from  native  sources,  amounted  to  Rs.  872.13.  On  this  clay  the 
collection  came  to  Rs.  150.  The  reports  of  work  done  in  the  islands  during  the  year 
by  one  pastor,  one  catechist,  and  several  day-school  teachers,  were  encouraging.  A 
fine  large  map,  twelve  by  sixteen  feet,  of  the  seven  islands,  the  field  of  the  society, 
drawn  by  the  secretary  and  hung  before  the  audience,  was  an  appeal  through  the  eye 


A  Native  Missionary  Society.  49 

to  the  heart.  The  addresses  by  the  four  native  speakers  were  very  good  :  and  those 
by  Rev.  S.  W.  Rowland,  of  Oodooville,  and  Rev.  J.  C.  Chandler,  of  the  Madura 
Mission,  were  specially  interesting.  At  the  afternoon  session  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
administered. 

As  the  concert  was  to  be  on  the  same  evening,  about  two-thirds  of  the  people 
stayed  to  attend,  and  the  native  Christians  of  the  Batticotta  Church  most  kindly  and 
generously  provided  for  all  an  abundant  meal  of  rice  and  curry.  It  was  their  own 
plan,  carried  out  with  true  hospitality,  and  with  the  putting  aside  of  caste  pre- 
judices, which  was  a  real  triumph  of  grace.  In  the  meantime,  bandies  from  all 
directions,  and  crowds  of  people,  began  to  arrive  for  the  concert.  The  church  was 
brilliantly  lighted  ;  the  organs  and  choirs  of  singers  were  arranged  in  the  centre,  and 
the  rest  of  the  large  church  was  filled  with  every  available  seat  that  could  be  obtained 
within  a  circle  of  three  miles.  The  people  poured  in  until  every  seat  and  every  inch 
of  standing-room  was  taken,  and  then  they  overflowed  into  the  road.  More  than  two 
thousand  people  were  present.  The  singers,  in  all,  numbered  over  one  hundred,  being 
choirs  from  the  two  girls'  boarding-schools,  the  training-school,  and  the  Jaffna  College, 
with  some  little  children  from  Manepy  and  Oodooville  day-schools,  who  sang  some 
songs  specially  adapted  for  infant  voices.  For  instruments  we  had  two  organs,  played 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chandler  and  myself,  three  violins,  one  flute,  bagpipes  (native  make), 
arum,  and  cymbals.  When  all  the  instruments  and  all  the  voices  came  in  on  the 
four  chorus  pieces  it  was  very  stirring.  There  w'ere  no  failures,  and  everything  passed 
off  better  than  I  expected.  The  little  children  from  Manepy  sang  out  as  sweetly  and 
clearly  as  little  bells,  and  were  repeatedly  cheered  by  the  audience.  The  thirteenth 
lyric,  sung  by  three  tiny  boys  between  si.K  and  seven  years  old,  with  two  older  boarding- 
school  girls  from  Oodooville,  and  a  vioUn  accompaniment  played  by  a  boy  about 
eleven,  was  very  prettily  rendered.  This  hymn  represented  a  conversation  between  a 
mother  and  child  about  the  slaying  of  the  infants  by  Herod  and  the  escape  of  Christ 
into  Egypt.  The  tenth  lyric,  which  was  very  long,  more  like  an  oratorio,  and 
contained  twenty-four  ditlerent  movements  or  tunes  in  four  different  keys,  was  sung  by 
the  students  of  Jaffna  College.  The  audience  was  very  (juiet  and  attentive  through- 
out, and  we  felt  that  they  spent  an  enjoyable  and  jirofitable  evening.  To  the 
multitude  of  heathen  present  a  pleasant  and  attractive  phase  of  Christianity  was  pre- 
sented, and  the  sweet  story  of  Jesus  told  in  song  could  not  fail  to  open  a  door  in  some 
hearts. 

The  same  evening  we,  with  Mr.  Chandler  and  his  singers,  went  on  board  the  boat 
for  India  At  our  last  heli)ers'  meeting  in  Manepy,  when  they  knew  we  were  going 
to   be  absent  from  them  for  a  little  time,  instead  of  being  discouraged,  they  gathered 


50 


In  India. 


around  us,  and  said  :  "  We  will  do  our  very  best  when  you  are  gone.  We  will  keep 
up  the  moonlight  meetings  and  the  school-work  just  as  it  is  going  on  now,  and  you 
will  find  everything  all  right  when  you  come  back."  We  have  had  some  very  good 
letters  from  them  since  we  reached  the  Pulney  Hills.  We  landed  at  Negapatan,  in 
India,  about  noon  on  the  following  day,  and  left  in  the  six  o'clock  train.  Train  ! 
Was  it  not  grand  to  feel  one's  self  flying  away,  propelled  by  steam  once  more  !  It  was 
a  beautiful  moonlight  night,  such  as  only  those  in  the  tropics  know,  and  I  sat  hour 
after  hour  watching,  as  we  flew  on  and  on  past  trees,  and  fields,  and  towns,  intoxicated 
by  the  swift  motion,  and  the  wild,  free,  glad  feeling  which  it  brought,  as  if  some  heavy 
burden  had  been  dropped— an  anchor  lifted,  a  cage-door  opened,  and  I,  a  white- 
winged  ship  or  a  bird  flying  before  the  wind.  In  the  morning  we  found  ourselves 
passing  through  an  interesting  country.  I  could  hardly  realize  that  I  was  in  the  great 
country  of  India— this  strange,  this  storied  land. 

Coming  up  through  the  hot  plains  of  India,  what  a  joy  it  was  to  catch  sight  of  the 
glorious  mountains,  towering  up  between  seven  and  eight  thousand  feet,  and  to  think 


A    BATHIN(;-1M,ACK. 


the  cool,  clear,  invigor-  i 
atip.g  atmosphere  inswath- 
mg  their  tops !  It  is  a 
comfort  to  know  that  there  are 
such  cool  places  in  this  hot  land. 
How  delightful  it  was  to  see  moun- 
tain scenery  again,  after  two  years 
and  a  half  on  an  absolutely  flat 
jjldin — for  I  was  cradled  in  the 
lap  of  the  grand  old  New 
England  hills,  and  in  sight 
of  my  home,  stretch- 
ing away  to  the  east,  ^ 
were  the  peaks'of  the 
White  Mountains,  -^^ 
snow-capped  for  nine 
months  in  the  year — 
the  Delectable  hills  of 
my  childhood.  '    ' 


52 


Mountain  Forests. 


GOING    UP   THE   MOUNTAIN. 


These  Indian  mountains  ascend  almost  perpendicularly.  We  were  carried  up,  as  the 
custom  is,  in  chairs  borne  upon  the  shoulders  of  four  coolies.  They  go,  in  a  zig-zag 
path,  right  up  the  side  of  the  mountain,  the  whole  length  of  which,  from  base  to  top, 
is  twelve  miles.     We  started  from  the  foot  at  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

How  delightful  it  was  to  hear  again  the  sound  of  roaring  mountain  brooks  dashing 
over  the  stones  ;  and  how  good  the  pure,  cold  water  tasted  !  What  a  luxury  !  I  had 
forgotten  that  water  could  be  so  cool,  or  taste  so  refreshing. 

How  can  I  describe  to  you  the  delights  of  that  cool,  misty  morning?  The  fresh 
mountain  air  fanned  our  brows.  The  birds  overhead,  as  if  in  rivalr)-  to  the  singing 
brooks,  broke  out  in  melody  :  every  little  throat  seemed  bursting  with  song.  'J  he 
mountain-tops  loomed  up  majestic  and  mysterious  in  the  mist. 

Now  we  came  into  the  heart  of  the  jungle,  and  great  forest  trees,  many  of  them 
entirely  strange  to  me,  strett  bed  out  their  large  arms  over  us,  their  stateliness  relieved 
by  the  many  kmds  of  creepers  that  in  tropica!  luxuriance  ran  and  clambered  every- 
where, making  the  thickets  dense  and  shady ;  and  underneath  I  s|Mecl  the  most 
beautiful    kinds    of    ferns.     They   say    there    arc     eiglity   ditferent   varieties   of  ferns 


in  these  woods.     Strangest  of  all, 
to   me,   were   the   huge   tree-ferns 
tossing  their  giant  plumes  high  in 
the  air. 

Nature  here  constantly 
fills  me  with  wonder   at 
her    lavishness.      There 
were  many   wild-flowers. 
=^  1    began    to    count,    and 
before    we    reached    the 
top  I  had  counted  over 
fifty     different     varieties 
and  kinds.     Many  of  them  were  entirely  new  to  me,  and 
very   curious.     Others    were    those  which    I    had    been 
accustomed  to  see  growing  in  hot-houses,  but  now  fur 
the  first  time  saw  growing  wild— begonias  ;  heliotrope  ; 
every  variety  of  geraniums;  roses,  white,  climbing,  and 
yellow  ;  and  great  white  lilies. 
Here,  on  the  very  summit  of  the  mountain,  our  mission  has 
a  home,  a  little  cottage,  and  from  the  front  veranda  we  can 
look  away  down  upon  the  plains— seven  thousand  feet     It  is 
a  grand  sight  to  see  the  clouds  gathering  and  rising  below  us, 
and  the  lightning,  in  a  storm,  glittering  and  flashing  at  our 
feet,  and  we  here,  high  and  calm  above  it  all.     The  sunlight 
;^ilding  the  mountain-tops  about  us,  and  the  play  of  sunlight 
and  shadow  on  their  slopes,  is  very  charming.     Below  us,  to 
I  he  north,  and  only  a  few  rods  away,  the  ripples  are  laughing 
and  sparkling  on  a  charming  lake  three  miles  in  circumference, 
\  where  we  mean  to  have  a  boat-ride  soon.     To  the  south-west 

\^  IS  a  beautiful  cascade,  that  goes  winding  down  the  mountain- 

side—a stream  of  molten  silver.  At  one  place  it  dashes  over 
a  precipice  of  a  thousand  feet,  and  falls  in  feathery  spray  at  the  foot.  In  the 
midst  of  this  grandeur,  and  sublimity,  and  beauty,  one  seems  to  come  very 
near  to  God,  and  to  be  filled  with  adoration  at  the  thought  of  His  power,  and 
wisdom,  and  love. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


A    HEAiHE.N    FAMILY. 


A  Contrast. 

Manepy,  January  i^t/i,  1S83. 

HREE  years  ago  we  lan- 
ded in  Jaffna.     Three 
very   short    years,  and 
yet  as  I  look  back  on 
them  the  retrospect   seems   full  of 
encouragement.     "  These   anniver- 
sary days  are  not  like  tombstones 
of  the  buried  past,  but  like  mile- 
stones, marked  on  the  other  side, 
'so  much  nearer  the  goal,' or  like 
triumphal     columns,     trophies     ot 
victory  'won  for  Jesus.'  " 
Shall    I    tell    you  some  of  the  changes  which   have   taken  place  in   Manepy  and 
Panditerippu,  the  fields  under  our  immediate  care,  in  these  three  years,  as  they  have 
come  to  my  mind  this  morning  ? 

Three  years  ago  we  had  a  station  Sunday  School  of  100  scholars  and  5  teachers. 
Now  we  have  395  scholars  on  the  roll,  200  average  attendance,  and  21  teachers  and 
ofificers.  There  is  now  a  native  pastor,  and  our  station  church  annual  contributions 
have  increased  Rs.  257,  besides  which  the  church  has  been  furnished  with  10  seats, 
9  lamps,  new  mats,  &c.,  by  its  members.  We  have  a  fine  new  building  for  the 
Station  Boys'  English  High  School,  costing  Rs.  350,  also  a  new  building  for  the 
Station  Girls'  School,  and  an  additional  teacher,  and  there  are  more  children  in  each. 
In  two  private  schools  near  the  station,  numbering  together  160  pupils,  no  Bible 
lessons  were  taught  three  years  ago.  But  now  the  Bible  lessons  are  regularly  taught 
in  them,  both  on  week-days  and  Sundays.  Three  years  ago,  at  .Arnikotty,  our  Tamil 
Boys'  School  was  nearly  dead,  and  a  large  heathen  Anglo-vernacular  School  had 
usurped  its  place.  Now  we  have  regained  our  footing,  and  have  a  large  Anglo- 
vernacular  School,  with  5  teachers  and  1  25  boys  who  are  taught  Bible  lessons,  and  are 
brought  to  the  Sunday  School. 


Figu  res  of  1  *  regress .  5  5 

A  new  girls'  school  of  60  children  has  been  organized  at  Suthumalay,  for  which  a 
new  school  building  was  erected  and  furnished.  We  also  have  a  new  building  for  the 
Arnikotty  Girls'  School.  We  have  an  additional  teacher  at  the  Arnikoity  South 
Mixed  School,  and  28  more  scholars.  The  Bible  is  taught  in  the  Arnikotty  West 
School  of  68  children,  where  it  was  not  three  years  ago.  In  Navaly  Station  Girls' 
School  we  have  an  additional  teacher  and  36  new  scholars.  The  Navaly  Church 
building  has  been  finished  and  repaired,  and  new  seats  and  mats  added,  at  a  cost  of 
Rs.  162  We  have  there  a  Sunday  School  of  about  175  average  attendance,  against 
75  three  years  ago. 

In  North  Navaly  we  have  a  new  Girls'  School,  with  new  building  and  furniture,  and 
6d  pupils.  We  have  a  similar  Girls'  School  with  new  building  and  furniture,  at 
Santillij^ay.  A  comjjound  has  also  been  bought  there,  and  a  bungalow  erected  at  a 
cost  of  Rs.  265.  A  new  catechist  is  stationed  there,  who  conducts  regular  Sabbath 
and  week-day  services,  and  superintends  a  Sabbath  School  with  an  average  attendance 
of  50. 

At  Panditerippu  Station,  the  average  attendance  at  Sunday  School  is  increased  by 
25.  The  church  building  has  been  repaired  and  the  floor  relaid  at  a  cost  of  Rs.  721, 
also  new  seats  and  a  new  pulpit  introduced  at  acost  of  Rs.  75.  In  the  Panditerippu 
Station  English  Boys'  School  we  have  an  additional  teacher,  and  a  much  more 
flourishing  school  than  three  years  ago.  In  the  Sirruverlan  School  we  have  a  new 
building,  an  additional  teacher,  and  31  new  scholars. 

To  sum  up  in  a  {^.w  words,  we  have  under  our  care  3  more  day-schools,  total 
27;  14  more  teachers,  including  sewing  teachers,  total  57;  395  more  pupils,  total 
1865.  The  above  does  not  include  two  private  schools  before  mentioned,  which 
also  co-operate  with  us.  The  Bible  lesson  is  taught  in  seven  schools  where  it  was 
not  taught  three  years  ago.  At  the  close  of  last  year,  a  most  carefully  conducted 
review  Bible-e.\amination  showed  1565  scholars  e.xamined,  and  the  total  of  Bible 
verses  recited  from  memory  8831,  and  of  questions  of  various  catechisms  42,736.  We 
have  now  in  our  Sabbath  Schools  94  teachers,  and  1529  pupils  on  the  list,  a  gain 
of  881  over  three  years  ago.  In  the  annual  review  examination  on  the  Intern.itional 
Sunday-school  Lessons,  held  in  last  December,  244  pupils  recited  the  golden  texts  for 
the  whole  year,  27  for  three  quarters,  49  for  two  quarters,  and  125  for  one  quarter. 
Our  church  membership  has  increased  40,  total  190.  The  contributions  of  the  three 
churches  in  our  field  were  Rs.  454  more  this  year  than  three  years  ago. 

We  have  sent  from  our  field  to  the  Jaffna  College,  Training  School,  Girls'  Boarding 
Schools,  and  other  higher  institutions  of  learning,  49  young  men,  38  young  women. 
Many  of  these  decided  to  give  themselves   to   Christ  while   in  our  dav  and  Sabbath 


A  CHRISTIAN  FAMILY  :   THK 


KKNWAK   AND  KKNWAKANI,  OK  K AI'AKTH AI.A,  AND  Till  IK   HOYS. 


A  Hopeful  Future. 


57 


schools,  and  54  of  them  have  already  joined  the  churches  connected  with  these  higher 
schools,  or  have  applied  for  church  membership.  757  Bible  portions  in  Tamil,  and 
about  50  New  Testaments  in  English,  were  bought  from  us  by  the  day  and  Sunday- 
school  children.  Many  more  were  bought  from  the  depository,  besides  several 
hundreds  given  out  as  Christmas  rewards.  468  religious  tracts  were  sold,  and  5565 
tracts  and  1514  handbills  distributed  during  the  past  year.     Three  years  ago  we  had 

only  4  Bible-women,  now  we  have  9.     They 
report   having  visited  409    houses    regularly 
during  the  past  year,  besides  teaching  Bible 
lessons,  sewing,  and  singing  to  the  girls  in 
nine  day-schools,  and  holding  many  cottage 
meetings.    They  are  teaching  125  women 
and  grown  girls  in  their  homes  to  read 
the  Bible.     These  have  memorized  alto- 
gether,   during    the    year,    2070 
Bible    verses,    209    hymns,    and 
1458  questions,  which  must  have 
given  them  employment  and  food 
)r  thought  in  many  otherwise  vacant  or 
nhappy    hours.     Of  these    women    and 
,  39  have  begun  to  pray  to  Christ,  and, 
lope,  to  love  Him.     If  you  read  between 
lines   in    these   statistics,  if  you  try  to 
he  facts  real  in  your  mind,  1  think  you 
encouraged,  as  we  are,  and  hopeful  and 
il  about  the  future. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

PD  Year's  Experience 
GREAT  Heathen  Festival. 

Manepy,  April  lyh,  1883. 

HIS    is  the  day  after 
the  great  car- draw- 
ing aay  and  tempie 
festival;  and  perhaps 
you  would  hke  to  hear  about  it 
and  our  meetings  on  that  day. 

We  had  hoped  some  of  the 
missionaries  would  be  with  us 
and  assist  this  year,  but  as  it  was 
the  day  of  the  quarterly  business 
meeting  they  were  not  able  to 
come.  Even  our  brother,  called 
to  America  by  our  dear  father's 
illness,  was  not  with  us,  but  we 
were  not  alone,  for  the  Elder 
Brother  was  with  us,  and  we 
seemed  to  feel  His  presence  all 
the  day,  and  He  made  good  His 
promise,  "  I  will  never  leave 
thee."  About  30  of  the  leading 
THE  CAR  OF  juGGERNATH.  Christians    from    our    own    and 

various  other  stations  came  to- 
gether in  the  morning  to  organize  into  companies  for  work.  Some  came  with  us  by 
invitation  to  the  tent  and  preaching  pandal,  others  went  to  book-stands,  and  other; 
went  out  a  mile  or  so  on  the  roads  as  last  year. 

Also  about  40  children  from  our  day  schools,  whom  we  had  been  specially  preparing 
for  this  occasion,  came  early  with  hymn-books  and  bright  faces.     After  refreshment 


No  Opposition. 


59 


BRAHMAN  FAKIR  ENGAGED  IN  MEDITATION. 


and  prayer  we  all  began  work  at    lo  a.m.      My  sister  went  to 

the  tent,  and  I   to  the  medical  veranda,  where  a  large  panda! 

had  been  erected  and  seats  provided.     Our  children's  voices, 

joining   in  a  bright  ringing  hymn  accompanied  by  organ, 

violin  and  cymbals,  soon  brought  us  large  audiences. 

We  had  eight  of  the  best  speakers  we  could  get  in 
Jaftna,  four  with  each  of  us,  and  they  did  indeed 
speak  well,  so  simply  and  earnestly,  relieved  every 
little  while  by  the  children  echoing  their  words  in 
some  appropriate  song. 

This  year — although  there  had  been  some  talk 
beforehand  that  there  would  be  opposition,  that 
Sapapathipullai  the  Sivite  preacher  would  be  present 
to  speak,  that  heathen  tracts  would  be  distributed, 
that  they  would  not  let  any  one  enter  our  yard,  that 
they  would  dispute  at  our  meetings — although  there 
had  been  some  such  floating  talk  and  some  articles  published  in  Sivite  newspapers 
to  that  effect,  yet  God  must  have  been  specially  with  us,  for  none  of  all  these  things 
happened,  and  we  had  altogether  quieter  and  better  meetings  than  last  year.  No  one 
tried  to  hinder  people  from  coming,  or  to  disturb  our  meetings,  but  people  came  in  large 
numbers  and  stayed  longer  and  listened  better  and  went  away  more  quietly  than  last 
year.  Many  stayed  from  an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  even  longer.  Many 
thousands  of  people  found  a  refuge  from  the  burning  sun  in  our  veranda,  tent,  and 
under  the  large  shade  trees,  and  some  spoke  gratefully  to  us  for  allowing  them  the 
privilege.  Thus  we  won  much  good  feeling  and  many  seemed  to  enjoy  our  meetings, 
and  I  hope  some  carried  away  real  good. 

On  the  white  wall  of  the  veranda  we  had  painted  in  Tamil  in  large  scarlet  letters 
these  verses  :  "  God  is  hn-e."  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 
"  There  is  joy  in  heaven  ore''  <ne  sinner  that  repenteth."  "  Come  unto  Me,  anll'U'ill 
give  yoic  rest.^'  Those  who  came  from  a  distance  toward  the  meeting  seemed  struck 
with  these  verses  shining  out  from  the  white  wall,  illuminated  by  the  noon-day  sun. 
They  would  begin  to  read,  and  I  could  see  their  lips  move  and  their  eyes  follow  the 
lines  as  they  read  one  and  another,  and  they  would  come  nearer  and  look  inquiringly  at 
the  speakers  as  if  to  say,  "  Can  you  explain  these  ?  "  And  the  speakers  explained 
them,  weaving  all  they  had  to  say  about  them,  and  pointing  to  them  and  reading  them 
over  and  over  again.  Thus  they  served  a  second  purpose  of  which  we  had  not 
thought    when    having    them    written — they    unified  all   the  addresses.     These   four 


6o 


A  Successful  Day. 


verses  were  silent  preachers  ot  repentance,  purity,  peace,  and  love  to  thousands 
during  the  day;  surely  they  must  be  remembered  in  some  hearts.  Our  little 
singers  did  beautifully ;  they  sang  off  and  on  for  five  hours,  their  little  throats 
growing  tired  at  last,  but  their  faces  still  shining. 

Mr.  Twynam,  the  English  Government  Agent  of  this  province,  came  on  from  town  in 
the  afternoon  to  see  if  all  was  quiet,  and  if  the  headmen  were  at  hand  and  preserv- 
ing^ order  •  for  there  are  disturbances  among  the  people  at  such  large  festivals  ;  and 
I  think  our  opening  our  grounds  and  calling  in  so  many  of  the  people,  thereby 
lessenin<T  the  crowd  about  the  temple,  has  tended  to  preserve  quiet  and  to  prevent 

fights. 

He  drove  slowly  past  the  temple  just  at  the  time  when  they  were  drawing  the 
car,  and  instead  of  the  people  opposing  his  passing,  to  our  astonishment  hundreds 
upon  hundreds  forsook  the  idol  car  to  walk  after  his  carriage,  a  mark  of  their  high 
respect  for  him,  and  their  really  small  reverence  for  or  faith  in  the  idol. 

Mr.  Twynam  sent  his  salams  to  us,  said  he  was  glad  we  were  having  meetings,  and 
told  us  to  go  on,  and  all  the  headmen  heard  him  say  so.  He  asked  to  hear  my 
little  folks  sing,  so  I  sent  fifteen  or  so  of  my  station  school  children  in  the  care  of  a 
pastor  to  him.  The  great  crowd  which  was  about  him  was  attracted  by  the  sound 
of  the  violin,  cymbals,  and  the  children's  voices,  and  thus  my  little  folks  held  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  largest  service  of  Christian  song  during  the  day,  with  the 
highly  respected  Government  Agent  as  the  centre.  We  thank  God  for  the  success 
oi  the  day,  and  pray  that  He  may  bless  all  that  passed  to  the  good  of  some  of  the 
many  who  were  present. 


■WOKSJIIPPING    KALI. 


A  STKLi   i     ,.^  ^i.VLON  LINED  WITH  TAMARIND,  COCOANl  T,  AND  OTHER   TREES. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
A  Letter  from  a  Christmas  Tree. 

Manepy,  December  ze^tli,  1883. 

EAR  CHILDREN, — I  am  a  Christmas  tree  which  you  helped  to  plant  in 
Santillipay. 

I  am  not  a  spruce-tree  such  as  you  use  in  your  country,  as  I  am  told, 
but  a  tamarind-tree  with  very  beautiful  soft  foliage  like  a  fern,  and  a  very 
valuable  and  plentiful  acid  fruit.  A  tamarind-tree  is  one  of  the  largest  kind  of  trees  in 
this  country,  and  one  of  the  most  valuable  ;  a  full-grown  tree  sometimes  produces  jQi 
worth  of  fiuit  in  a  year.  But  a  tamarind  Christinas  tree  produces  still  more  valuable 
fruit,  for  the  toys  with  which  I  am  covered  delight  a  hundred  little  eyes,  and  the 
Tamil  Bibles  and  Scripture  portions  and  hymn-books  will  feed  the  heart. 

I  grew  in  the  mission  compound  in  Santilli[)ay,  and  after  the  roof  of  the  large 
preaching  bungalow  svas  all  lined  by  the  teachers  and  native  Christians  with  white 
cloth,  and  after  a  beautiful  arch  of  strung  red  and  white  oleander  blossoms  was 
erected  and  other  decorations  jrat  up,  I  was  brought  in  and  planted.      Immediately  the 


62  C/iristmas  at  the  Mission-school. 

children  brought  more  flowers,  hmes,  plantain  fruits,  &c.,  to  decorate  me.  Then  the 
gifts  sent  by  you,  and  prepared  by  the  missionary  ladies  with  the  name  of  the  future 
owner  written  on  each,  were  hung  upon  me,  as  well  as  lots  of  little  bags  full  of  popcorn, 
roast  peas,  roast  rice,  native  sugar  and  sweet  cakes.  These  were  brought  and  hung  till 
my  branches  were  bending  down  with  the  heavy  load.  But  the  merry  shouts  of  the 
children  helped  me  to  keep  up  a  stout  heart  and  not  give  way. 

Then  the  missionary  ladies  arrived,  and  to  their  surprise  they  were  met  by  a  large 
company  of  people,  and  a  native  band  of  music  consisting  of  five  instruments,  two 
flutes,  large  and  small,  a  kind  of  native  bagpipe,  a  drum,  and  cymbals. 

A  canopy  of  red  cloth  decorated  with  fljwers  was  carried  over  the  heads  of  the 
missionary  ladies,  rose  water  from  silver  vases  was  sprinkled  over  tliem,  and  flowers, 
two  large  baskets  full,  were  strewn  before  them.  This  was  all  arranged  as  a  pleasant 
surprise  by  the  people,  to  show  their  goodwill  and  love.  Was  it  not  a  great  change 
from  the  year  before  last,  when  at  some  moonligut  meetings  the  missionary  ladies  and 
Christians  were  stoned,  the  fruit-trees  belonging  to  a  Christian  family  robbed,  and  theit 
fowls  killed  ?  At  that  time  all  the  boys  in  the  place  were  studying  in  a  Sivite  school  in 
which  the  secular  lessons  were  taught  on  the  Sabbath  as  well  as  on  week-days,  and  where 
the  students  were  taught  to  mock  at  Christianity.  Now  there  is  a  Mission-school 
here  with  120  children,  where  the  Bible  lessons  and  Christian  hymns  are  daily  taught, 
and  the  children  are  brought  on  the  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  school  and  church  service. 

These  children  were  all  present  around  me,  and  they  were  seated  on  ola  mats 
spread  on  the  floor.  They  were  all  dressed  in  their  best  clothes,  and,  as  bright  colours 
are  much  liked  by  the  people,  they  looked  like  a  flower  garden.  Their  little  baby 
brothers  and  sisters  came  also,  and  many  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  as  well. 
These  were  all  seated  around  the  four  sides  of  the  building.  The  boys  and  girls 
were  prepared  with  many  dialogues,  recitations,  compositions,  &c.,  appropriate  to 
the  occasion,  in  English  and  Tamil,  all  of  which  they  recited  very  well,  I  thought. 
Some  were  about  Christ,  His  birth,  His  teachings,  &c.,  and  one  boy  in  the  midst  of 
his  address  opened  the  Bible  and  read  a  part  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  all 
the  heathen  present  listened  with  attention  to  those  beautiful  and  lofty  words.  There 
was  much  singing,  Miss  Leitch  had  her  "  American  baby  organ  "  with  her,  and  also  a 
part  of  the  Manepy  children's  choir  with  violin  and  cymbals. 

Then  several  persons  present  gave  addresses.  After  this  the  presents  were 
distributed.  Quite  a  number  of  boys  and  <:irls  whose  names  were  found  on  the  "  roll 
of  honour,"  because  they  had  recited  perfectly  the  145  Bible  verses,  twelve  hymns  and 
lyrics,  and  fi(ty-two  golden  te.xts,  which  formed  the  Bible  lesson  for  the  year,  as  well 
as   shown    a   perfect   or    nearly   perfect  Sunday  School   att  ;ndance,  received  prizes  of 


Fate  of  the  C/iristiiias  Tree. 


63 


New  Testaments  or  hymn   books.     Have  any  of  you  little  girls  and  boys  to   whom   I 
write  done  as  well  as  they,  and  do  you  stand  on  the  roll  of  honour  ? 

After  the  meeting  all  the  men,  women,  and  children  escorted  the  missionary 
ladies  half  a  mile  on  foot  toward  their  home,  walking  in  procession  and  headed  by 
music. 

My  work  is  done.  A  coolie  has  come  to  cut  me  up  for  firewood  for  the  catechist's 
family,  so  in  death  as  in  life,  1  am, 

Your  faithful 

Christmas  Tree. 


A    VIEW    IN    CEYLON. 


A    BANYAN   TREE. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


The  Week  of  Prayer 

Mancpy,  January  14th,  1884. 

IKE  the  banyan  tree,  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  seems  to  be  growinjjj  and 
extending  here,  taking  deeper  root  downward,  and  sending  new  shoots 
upward. 

We  were  much  encouraged  this  year  during  the  week  of  prayer.  'I'he 
English-speaking  children  from  our  large  English  schools  at  Manepy  and  Arnikotty 
came  into  the  meetings,  not  reluctantly  as  last  year,  Init  always  with  a  glad  rush.  On 
the  last  day,  after  several  addresses,  in  which  they  were  urged  to  decide  for  Christ  now, 
they  were  asked  how  many  wished  to  give  their  hearts  to  God  at  the  beginning  ot 
the  new  year,  and  m  my  hands  were  held  up. 

The  Christians  took  new  courage,  and  in  their  evening  meeting  said,  "  Let  us  save 
the  children,  and  in  ten  or  fifteen  years,  instead  of  one  or  two  hundred  Christians  in 
this  field,  there  will  bj  thousands."      The  Christians  consecrated    themselves  anew  to 


Wanted — Reapers. 


65 


Christ's  service  with  earnest  prayers  and  tears,  and  we  are  looking  for  a  blessing  on 
the  work  this  coming  year.  We  distributed  during  the  past  year  twenty-four  copies 
of  D.  L.  Moody's  book  of  sermons,  and  a  large  number  of  his  tracts,  and  we  see  they 
are  having  an  excellent  effect.  We  expect  to  have  the  book  translated  into  Tamil,  and 
printed  before  next  Christmas.  You  ask,  "  Do  you  see  signs  of  His  coming  foot- 
steps ?  "  I  answer,  "  Yes^  yes  ;  there  are  everywhere  signs  of  His  coming.  I  can  see  the 
fields  white  for  the  harvest."  The  question  I  would  send  back  to  my  friends  is,  "  Where 
are  the  reapers?"  During  the  past  week,  which  was  the  week  of  prayer,  my  sister 
and  I  attended  thirty  meetings.  But  there  were  calls  from  villages  for  Gospel  meetings 
which  we  could  not  attend.  How  are  my  sister  and  myself  to  direct  the  teaching  of 
the  Bible  lessons  to  nearly  2000  children  in  schools?  In  our  field  are  nearly  20,000 
people,  and  every  village  open  for  the  Gospel,  and  calling  for  moonlight  meetings. 
We  have  had  the  Christians,  not  only  men  but  women  and  children,  organized  into 
companies  to  go  to  these  meetings,  but  they  are  not  enough.  At  any  of  these  meetings, 
if  sister  or  I  can  go,  from  one  to  five  hundred  will  attend.  Formerly  a  missionary 
had  to  go  through  a  village  and  call  the  people,  and  he  thought  he  was  successful  if 
he  could  get  a  dozen  or  two  to  listen  to  him  ;  but  now,  when  the  fields  are  ripe  for  the 
harvest,  we  are  short  of  labourers. 

I  am  just  now  enjoying  very  much 
accompanying  our  dear  native  Bible- 
women,  and  visiting  the  homes  usually 
visited  by  them,  and  going  over  the  Bible 
lessons  taught  by  them  during  the  last 
three  months.  I  think  they  are  doing 
very  good  work.  I  see  real  progress  in 
the  women  whom  they  visit — not  only  that 
they  can  say  more  Bible  verses,  but  that 
they  show  more  earnestness  and  more 
desire  to  know  God,  and  more  wish  to 
serve  Him.  I  have  hope  that  in  many 
hearts  there  is  true  love  for  Christ.  Though 
fear  of  husbands  and  friends  and  custom 
kc^eps  them  from  cuming  out  to  Church, 
or  o])enly  acknowledging  Him  by  joining 
the  Church,  yei  they  do  acknincledge  Him 
in  their  homes  and  before  their  families  and 
friends,  and  are  known  in  their  homes  as 


A    BIBLE-WOMAN. 


66  Helpers  at  Hovie. 

women  who  do  tiot  go  to  heathen  temples  or  rub  ashes,  but  ivho  study  the  Bible  and  pray. 
Let  us  rejoice  in  this,  and  pray  the  Lord  to  give  them  strength  for  the  other  part, 
which  is,  oh,  so  hard  in  this  country  !  You  at  home  cannot  know  the  strength  of 
customs  and  caste  prejudices  here,  or  how  difficult  it  is  to  break  away  from  these.  I 
wish  you  could  go  with  me  to  these  homes  and  see  these  bright  faces,  and  hear  the 
words  of  welcome,  and  see  the  serious  earnestness  with  which  they  at  once  sit  down 
and  recite  their  Bible  lessons.  I  cannot  help  thanking  God,  again  and  again,  that  we 
are  granted  the  great  privilege  of  sowing  the  precious  seed  of  His  Word  in  so  many 
willing  hearts.     I  hope  our  friends  at  home  will  continue  in  prayer  for  this  work. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Jaffna  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  recently  held  in  the 
town  of  Jaffna,  I  heard  an  English  Church  missionary  relate  an  incident  which  had 
been  told  him  by  a  missionary  from  China,  and  which  has  been  in  my  thoughts  a 
great  deal  since.  He  said  that  in  the  China  Inland  Mission  the  work  in  some  places 
seemed  very  hard  and  discouraging,  but  in  one  native  church,  under  the  care  of  a 
native  pastor,  there  were  always  inquirers  and  conversions  and  additions  to  the 
Church,  and  this  was  so  remarkable  as  to  excite  the  attention  of  many  of  the  workers 
in  China.  One  of  the  missionaries  of  that  mission  on  going  home  to  England  was 
met  by  a  gentleman  from  Bristol,  who  invited  him  to  his  house,  and  surprised  him  by 
asking  him  the  most  careful  questions,  showing  a  remarkable  and  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  work.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation  it  became  known  that  this  Bristol 
gentleman  had  undertaken  some  time  ago  the  support  of  the  native  pastor  before 
mentioned,  and  had  sent  the  funds  regularly  through  the  society  on  condition  that  this 
pastor  should  send  him  very  frequent  accounts  of  the  work  in  all  its  details.  The 
missionary  said  he  understood  the  secret  of  the  success  of  that  work  when  he  heard 
this  gentleman  pray.  He  prayed  for  the  young  converts  by  name,  he  prayed  for  the  in- 
quirers, stating  their  various  ditiiculties,  he  prayed  for  the  pastor  and  for  the  native  Chris- 
tians. He  prayed  as  one  speaking  to  a  dear  and  tried  friend,  and  sure  of  an  answer. 
And  he  was  answered.  God  had  in  a  wonderful  way  honoured  that  man's  intelligent 
and  believing  prayer.  When  I  heard  it  I  could  not  keep  back  the  tears.  We  want  such 
believing  prayers  offered  for  Jaffna,     It  seems  as  if  we  could  not  do  without  them. 

"The  Lord's  hand  is  not  shortened  that  it  cannot  r-ave,  neither  His  ear  heavy  that  it 
cannot  hear."  Is  it  indifference  and  unbelief  which  have  kept  back  the  blessing 
which  He  was  willing  and  waiting  to  give? 

*'  God  be  merciful  u?ito  us,  a7id  bless  us,  and  cause  His  face  to  shine  upon  us." 
"  That  Thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth.  Thy  saving  health  a.mong  all 
NATIONS.  Let  the  people  praise  Thee,  O  God :  lei  all  the  people  praise  Thee.  O  let  the 
nations  be  glad  and  sing  for  Joy^ 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


seeing 
membership 


Protection  in  Time  of  Danger. 

Manepy,  July  £,th,  1884. 

UST  five  years  ago  to-day  we  left  our 
Vermont  home  and  turned  our  faces 
toward  Boston  and  the  foreign  field. 

We  are  celebrating  the  day  in  what 
is  to  us  a  very  joyful  manner,  viz.  in 
twelve  persons  examined  by  the  committee  for  Church 
lliey  will  join  on  profession  of  faith  on  the  coming 
Sabbath.  There  are  a  number  of  others  who  have  asked  to  be  received,  but  it  was 
thought  best  for  them  to  wait  till  next  occasion,  in  order  that  the  Christians  may 
have  time  to  know  them  better  and  have  fuller  proof  of  their  sincerity.  I  trust  they 
may  prove  true. 

Last  April  and  May  the  smallpox  broke  out  in  several  of  the  villages  around  us, 
niaking  it  necessary  for  us  to  close  a  number  of  our  day-schools  for  a  lime,  but  not 
one  of  our  Christians  or  Sabbath  School  children,  as  far  as  we  know,  has  suffered.  At 
the  time  nearly  2000  children  were  learning  the  91st  Psalm  :  "  He  thatdwelleth  in  the 
secret  place  of  the  Most  Higli  shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty,"  &c. 
This  lesson  had  been  fixed  months  before  for  this  time.  Was  it  a  coincidence 
only  that  the  precious  words  should  come  to  give  courage  in  time  of  danger  ?  Was  it 
not  a  special  providence  that  none  of  our  dear  people  were  stricken  ?  Yes,  the  special 
Providence  whose  love  plans  every  moment  of  our  lives,  and  therefore  in  life  or  death 
nothing  can  go  wrong  with  us. 

A  few  months  ago  a  Christian  girl  lay  dying  of  fever.  She  said,  "  I  do  not  want 
to  stay  ;  I  want  to  go,  for  heaven  is  better."  A  little  later  she  said,  "  Mother,  I  see  in 
heaven  they  are  giving  in  their  accounts,"  and  a  moment  later,  "  I  see  my  little 
sister  there  ;"  and  stretching  out  her  hands  she  died  with  a  glad  smile.  Her  father  a 
native  Christian  lawyer,  has  just  q;iven  Rs  750  in  memory  of  his  two  daughters,  to  found 
two  scholarships  in  the  Wesleyan  Girls'  Boarding-School  where  they  studied. 

This    is  an    index  of  how  true    a   hold  Cnristianity    has  on  the  hearts    of  nati%e 


5S  Mourning  without  Hope. 

Christians  here.  Many  in  years  to  come,  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  these  dear 
departed  ones,  will  receive  the  blessings  of  a  Christian  education  in  this  Girls'  Boardmg- 
School. 

* 

After  reaching  Ceylon  one  of  the  first  things  which  affected  me  very  deeply  was 
the  sight  of  a  heathen  funeral.  On  going  to  the  house  where  a  little  child  had  died, 
I  found  the  mother  beating  her  face  on  the  ground  and  wailing  most  piteously.  The 
human  heart  is  Just  the  same  all  the  worhi  over,  and  mothers  love  their  children.  This 
poor  fnother  had  no  hope  of  ever  seeing  this  child  again  or  taking  it  in  her  arms  or 
knowing  it  as  her  child,  and  her  heart  was  breaking.  Soon  the  little  body  which  she 
pressed  so  convulsively  to  her  bosom  would  be  carried  away  by  the  men  of  the 
village  and  reduced  to  ashes  in  the  burning  ground,  and  the  ashes  would  be  strewn  in 
the  sea.  She  thought  the  child  she  loved  was  lost  to  her  for  ever,  and  the  future 
seemed  all  dark  to  her.  Very  often  mothers,  under  such  circumstances,  will  refuse 
to  eat  food  for  days  together,  and  sometimes  a  mother's  hopelessness  and  despair 
are  such  that  she  commits  suicide. 

Dear  mothers  in  the  home  land,  some  of  you  have  lost  a  little  child.  What  did 
you  do  in  that  sad  hour  ?  You  went  into  your  closet  and  looked  up  into  the  face  of 
your  Christ,  and  poured  out  all  your  sorrows  before  Him.  You  remembered  that  He 
had  said,  "  Suffer  httle  children  to  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not :  for  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  Heaven."  You  thought  how  He  had  taken  up  little  children  in 
His  arms  and  blessed  them,  and  you  believed  that  your  little  one  was  safe  and  happy 
with  Him,  that  He  was  caring  for  it  better  than  you  could  care  for  it,  that  you  would 
see  it  again,  and  your  hearts  were  comforted.  Was  it  not  so  ?  Remetnber  there  are 
other  mothers  who  need  the  same  comfort  which  comforted  you  in  your  hours  of 
great  sorrow.  Oh,  make  haste  to  tell  the  heathen  mothers  of  Jesus,  the  Almighty 
Saviour,  the  infinitely  compassionate  One,  for  they  need  Him  as  much  as  you  do. 

Some  time  after  we  landed  in  Ceylon  I  attended  a  Christian  funeral.  Again  it  was 
a  little  child  that  had  died.  I  looked  into  the  faces  of  the  father  and  mother,  and 
although  their  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  I  saw  a  look  oi  hope  on  their  feces.  A  number 
of  native  Christians  had  come  to  the  liouse,  and  we  joined  together  in  singing  Christian 
hymns.  The  native  minister  came  and  held  a  brief  service.  Then  all  followed  the 
body  to  the  grave-yard,  walking  in  procession  and  singing  in  the  Tamil  language  : — 

"There's  a  land  that  is  fairer  than  day,  and  by  faith  we  can  see  it  afar, 
Vox  our  Father  waits  over  the  way,  to  provide  us  a  dwelling-place  there. 
In  the  sweet  by-and-by  we  shall  meet  on  that  beautiful  shore. 
In  the  sweet  by-and-by,  we  shall  meet  on  that  beautiful  shore." 


Cur  Dead  not  Lost. 


69 


We  stood  around  the  open  grave,  and  the  native  minister  opened  the  Bible  and  read 
those  words  of  Christ's:  '"I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life:  he  that  beheveth  in 
Me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live."  Marvellous  words  !  Surely  none 
but  a  Divine  Saviour  could  have  spoken  words  so  suited  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
human  heart.  I  looked  again  at  the  faces  of  the  father  and  mother ;  they  were 
upturned  to  heaven,  and  I  saw  in  them  a  look  of  resignation  and  peace.  In  my  heart 
I  thanked  God  that  we  had  such  a  Gospel  to  give  to  the  heathen — a  Gospel  which 
presents  such  glorious  hopes.  Our  dead  are  not  lost,  but  gone  before.  We  shall  meet 
them  again  on  the  other  side,  and  there  shall  be  no  partings  there,  "  and  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  froni  all  eyes." 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

A  Christian  Wedding. 

Manepy,  July  wth,  18S4. 

E  had  a  very  large 
Christian  wedding 
in  our  church  the 
other  day  It  was 
attended  by  at  least  800  people, 
many  of  them  from  amongst 
the  highest  families  in  Jaffna. 
The  father  of  the  bride  years 
ago  came  from  a  high  heathen 
family,  to  study  in  the  mission 

boarding-school.    To  enter  there,  one  of  the  subjects  for  examination  was  the  Scripture 
catechism.     Although  his  father    was  a  stiff  heathen  and  had   his  son   taught   in    a 
private  heathen  school,  yet  he  sent  him  to  a  Christian  village  school  for  a  itvi  months, 
just  in  order  that  he  might  learn  the  Christian  catechism  and  pass  a  good  examination. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  his  knowledge  of  Christianity.     He  then  went  to  study  at 
the  Batticotta  Seminary  (a  school  which    preceded  the  Jaffna  College),  and  while  a 
student  there  he  became  convinced  of  the  truth  and  was  brought  to  Christ.     Wlun 
his  parents  knew  this  they  were  very  angry,  and  threatened  him  with   the  loss  of  his 
inheritance.     On  the  Sabbath,  when   he  was  to   have  been  baptized,  they  shut  him  up 
and  took  away  all   his    clothes.     When,  later  on,  he  received  baptism,  he  was  cast  off 
by  his  parents,  but  our  mission  sent  him  to  Manepy,  where  he  studied  medicine  under 
the  late  Dr.  Green.     He  is  now  the  leading    native   Christian  doctor  in   Manepy,  and 
has  a  large  practice  and  wide  reputation. 

He  married  a  Christian  girl,  having  refused  offers  from  the  parents  of  much  richer 
heathen  girls.  He  has  now  a  large,  fme  stone  house,  and  an  interesting  family  of 
children.  His  wife  is  a  very  lovely  woman,  beautiful  in  person,  in  mind,  and  in  heart; 
It  is  a  joy  and  satisfaction  to  have  her  company  and  help  in  village  meetings,  or  in 
visiting  in  the  homes  of  the  pupils  of  the  Bible-women,     She  teaches  a  class  of  girls  in 


A  NATIVE  GIKL. 


72 


Dead  to  Heathenism. 


A    LITTLE    liRIDESMAID. 


Sunday  School,  though  most  women  with  a  family  of  six  children, 
three  of  them  little  ones,  would  not  think  they  could  come 
promptly  at  8.30  a.m.  on  Sabbath  mornings  as  she  does.  She 
goes  out  every  Sabbath  afternoon  to  hold  a  women's  meeting  in 
the  neighbouring  village,  taking  her  little  children  with  her. 

The  eldest  daughter,  about  whose  marriage  I  began  to  tell  you, 
is  a  beautiful  girl,  nineteen  years  old,  educated  in  the  boarding- 
school,  speaking  English,  able  to  read  music  and  play  on  the 
organ,  and  a  good  singer;  she  sews  and  embroiders,  and  is  a 
good  housekeeper;  but  more  important  than  all,  she  is  an  earnest, 
loving  Christian. 

A  young  man  related  to  a  high  heathen  family,  who  studied  in 
the  Jaffna  College  and  became  a  Christian,  asked  for  the  daughter 
in  marriage,  because  she  was  a  true  Christian.  When  this  young 
man's  parents  heard  of  it,  they  were  very  angry.  They  wished 
him  to  marry  a  rich  heathen  girl^  and  return  to  heathenism. 
They  offered  if  he  would  do  this  to  give  him  ;;^3oo,  and  the  relatives  offered  ;^ioo  if 
he  would  marry  with  heathen  ceremonies.  He  refused,  and  chose  to  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  Christians.  The  persecution  of  his  friends  was  so  great  that  he  felt  he  must 
either  accede  to  their  wishes  and  become  a  heathen,  or  else  leave  his  home,  which  he 
did.  His  mother  threatened  to  throw  herself  into  the  well,  and  his  father  threatened 
to  disinherit  him,  and  finally  they  sent  him  word  that  they  regarded  him  as  one  dead. 

It  was  very  trying  that  not  one  of  his  immediate  relatives  was  present  at  his  marriage, 
but  the  Christians  and  the  missionaries  and  many  educated  and  influential  natives 
were  present,  to  the  number  of  800.  The  marriage  was  celebrated  in  the  Manepy 
church.  I  was  glad  that  so  many  should  have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  a  Christian 
marriage,  and  hearing  the  words  of  the  native  pastor  and  our  missionaries.  It  was 
nearly  dusk  when  they  left  the  church,  Christian  lyrics  in  Tamil  composed  for  the 
occasion,  and  sung  with  accompaniment  of  native  instruments,  having  very  pleasantly 
filled  up  the  time. 

As  the  bridal  party  left  the  church,  garments  were  spread  before  them  the  whole 
way  to  their  home,  an  arch  of  flowers  was  borne  over  their  heads,  a  band  of  music 
preceded  them,  and  the  whole  company  of  people  accompanied  them  on  foot  in  the 
brilliant  glare  of  torches,  blue  and  red  lights,  rockets  and  fireworks,  provided  by  friends 
to  grace  the  occasion. 

We  hope  that  they  may  have  a  very  happy  and  useful  life,  and  carry  out  their  intention 
of  devoting  themselves  directly  to  Christian  work  in  connection  with  this  mission. 


THE    OODOOVILLE    GIRLS     IIOAKDINC.-SC  HCjOL. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


Persecution  and  Deliverance. 

Oodooville,  January,  1885. 
|EAR  the  close  of  last  year  we  were  stationed  at  Oodooville,  a  place  about  d 
mile  distant  from  Manepy,  and  in  addition  to  our  other  work  we  were 
given  the  charge  of  the  Oodooville  Girls'  Boarding-School.  Will  you  not 
pray  that  grace  may  be  given  us  to  meet  these  added  responsibilities  ? 
'I'he  past  year  has  been  one  of  much  encouragement.  Fifty-nine  persons  have 
united  with  the  three  Churches  in  our  field,  namely  forty-five  in  Manepy,  eleven  in 
Navaly,  and  three  in  Panditerippu.  Besides  these,  quite  a  number  from  our  field, 
former  members  of  our  day  and  Sabbath  schools  and  inquirers'  classes,  have  been 
received  on  profession  of  faitli  in  the  Wesleyan  and  Church  Mission  churches,  and 
are  now  students  in  the  boarding-schools  of  those  Missions.  In  all  this  we  rejoice. 
Our  native  Christians,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  during  the  week  of  prayer,  united 
together  to  pray  that  fifty  might  be  brought  to  Christ  within  the  year.     Some  thought 


74  ChelappaJi. 

it  was  a  very  large  request,  but  it  was  the  prayer  of  faith  from  more  than  one  heart. 
They  now  feel  that  God  has  heard  this  prayer,  and  they  take  courage  to  ask  for  great 
things  this  coming  year.  We  do  not  forget  that  dear  friends  in  the  home-land  have 
been  praying  especially  for  this  field  and  work,  and  we  are  glad  that  these  prayers 
have  been  and  are  being  answered,  and  we  believe  that  we  shall  rejoice  together  at  the 
last  great  ingathering. 

Another  encouraging  feature  of  the  year  has  been  the  forming  of  several  new 
inquirers'  classes.  There  are  now  held  weekly  seventeen  such  classes,  with  a 
total  average  attendance  of  about  150.  In  these  meetings  the  portion  of  Scripture 
appointed  to  be  read  during  the  week  is  explained.  Each  one  is  expected  to  repeat  a 
verse  of  Scripture  and  to  offer  prayer.  The  leader  also  inquires  after  and  encourages 
each  one  in  the  class  in  regard  to  habits  of  daily  prayer,  Bible  study,  and  church 
attendance.  The  classes  are  conducted  by  the  native  pastors,  catechists,  leading 
native  Christians,  and  by  ourselves.  To  join  one  of  these  classes  helps  the  young 
people  to  take  a  step  toward  confessing  Christ,  puts  them  under  the  care  of  older 
Christians,  and  thus,  by  meeting  together  from  week  to  week,  they  become  a  band  of 
friends  to  encourage  each  other.  They  also  become  known  in  their  villages  as 
inquirers.  Inquirers'  classes  are  rallying  points  to  which  any  one  showing  signs  of 
interest  is  at  once  invited.  In  countries  where  to  leave  idolatry  and  come  over  to  a 
public  profession  of  Christianity  is  so  vast  a  change,  such  a  class  as  a  stepping-stone 
is  a  great  help.  It  is  our  desire  to  see  an  inquirers'  class,  however  small,  in  every  day- 
school  before  the  end  of  the  coming  year.  For  God's  help  in  this,  and  for  these  150 
inquirers,  we  ask  our  home  friends  to  pray. 

The  religious  history  of  some  of  those  who  joined  the  church  this  year  seems  to  us 
interesting.     I  will  mention  a  few  instances. 

Chelappah,  a  man  in  Arnikotty,  was  led  to  Christ  by  the  persistent  efforts  of  a  young 
Christian  boy.  He  has  shown  so  much  earnestness  in  regard  to  bringing  up  his  family, 
as  quite  to  put  to  shame  many  of  our  older  Christians.  He  brought  his  wife  and 
children  to  church.  He  did  not  make  the  common  excuse  of  want  of  jewels  and 
beautiful  clothes,  and  though  the  heathen  relatives  persecuted  and  ridiculed  him,  he 
took  no  notice.  He  had  his  children  baptized.  He  bought  a  whole  Bible  and  began 
family  prayers.  He  sought  the  Bible-women  and  invited  them  to  teach  his  wife. 
He  brought  his  daughter  often  to  the  girls'  inquirers'  class,  walking  the  mile  both 
ways  and  waiting  patiently  outside  during  the  meeting.  He  had  the  joy  of  seeing  his 
wife  join  the  church  at  the  close  of  the  year. 

One  of  the  inquirers,  a  young  man  of  a  high  heathen  family,  has  lately  achieved  a 
great  success  in   being  married   without  heathen   ceremonies.     The  parents  of  boih 


A  Brave  Christian  Pariah.  75 

parties  were  strong  Sivites,  but  the  young  man  never  for  a  moment  wavered.  The 
bride  had  formerly  learned  the  Bible  lessons  in  our  day-school,  and  again,  when  toe 
old  to  go  to  day-school,  i.e.  after  the  age  of  twelve,  she  had  been  taught  in  her  home 
by  one  of  our  Bible-women,  so  she  also  favoured  a  Christian  marriage — one  of  the 
many  good  results  of  Bible-women's  work. 

Another,  a  young  man  of  the  Pariah  caste,  who  had  studied  in  one  of  our  day-schools, 
was  threatened  by  the  higher-caste  heathen  people,  his  former  masters,  with  dreadful 
punishments  if  he  should  join  the  church  ;  for  the  old  system  of  master  and  serf, 
though  under  the  English  (jovernment  it  is  done  away  with  in  name,  still  e.xists  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  and  the  Pariahs  stand  much  in  fear  of,  and  are  in  subjection  to, 
the  higher  castes.  For  three  years  he  hid  the  light  in  his  heart,  living  privately  as  a 
Christian,  but  fearing  to  confess  Christ.  At  last  the  light  would  not  stay  hid,  and  he 
joined  the  church.  The  next  Sabbath  he  was  stopped  on  his  way  to  the  morning 
service  and  ordered  to  work,  and  beaten  because  he  refused.  He  still  continued  to 
attend  church,  and  because  of  this,  one  day  when  on  his  way  to  town  with  a  bundle 
of  cloth  to  sell,  he  was  caught,  robbed  of  his  cloth  and  earrings  and  waist-chain,  com- 
pelled to  walk  ten  miles  in  the  hot  sun,  and  left  in  a  strange  village,  with  threats  that 
if  he  ever  returned  to  his  home  he  would  be  imprisoned.  This  was  done,  it  appears, 
to  ■  intimidate  other  low-caste  people  from  becoming  Christians,  lest  they  should 
become  enlightened  and  no  longer  submit  to  heathen  control.  The  youth  stayed 
away  some  weeks,  and  then  ventured  back  and  still  continued  to  attend  church.  His 
late  masters  then  instituted  a  false  case  against  him  in  court,  but  through  the  efforts  of 
our  native  Christians  it  was  abandoned,  though  both  parties  were  lined  a  considerable 
sum  for  non-appearance.  The  heathen  people  were  enraged  that  they  had  to  pay 
this  sum,  and  forthwith  dragged  the  youth  to  their  house  and  made  him  stand  for 
three  hours  in  the  mid-day  sun,  with  his  face  turned  toward  the  sky  and  holding  a  stone 
on  his  forehead — a  most  cruel  torture.  On  learning  this,  we  warned  the  people  that 
if  they  committed  another  act  of  violence  toward  him  they  would  be  prosecuted.  On 
the  next  Sabbath  the  youth,  notwithstanding  threats  and  punishments,  was  found  in 
his  place  in  church  both  morning  and  evening.  The  lesson  in  Sabbath  School  was 
about  Paul's  willingness  not  only  to  be  bound  but  also  to  die  for  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  and  I  noticed,  while  teaching  it,  that  his  face  was  shining  as  if  with  the  very 
light  of  heaven.  Poor  youth,  I  little  thought  how  soon  another  trial  would  come  to 
him!  On  the  very  next  day  those  men  took  him  to  their  house,  and,  tying  his  hands 
and  feet,  beat  him  in  the  most  shameful  manner  and  left  him  bound  in  that  way  for 
some  hours.  My  sister  was  called  by  a  relative  and  saw  him  in  this  state.  The 
moment  she  had  left  him  in  order  to  seek  for  help,  they,  fearing  she  would  take  a  case 


70 


Persecutors  Fined. 


against  them,  dragged  the  youth  for  some  distance  over  the  dust  and  stones  on  his 
bleeding  back,  which  was  unprotected  by  any  clothing,  and  then  marched  him  off  to 
town  over  fields  and  fences  a  round-about  way,  for  fear  that  others  would  see  them, 
their  object  being  to  get  a  false  case  into  court  before  we  could  enter  a  true  one. 
But  their  plan  did  not  succeed,  for  my  sister  saw  the  police  inspector  the  next 
morning,  and  the  magistrate  at  once  gave  orders  to  have  the  men  arrested  and  sent  to 
jail,  with  the  prospect  before  them,  if  the  case  were  tried,  of  being  sent  to  prison  for 
a  term  of  years.  They  begged  for  mercy,  which  for  the  sake  of  peace  in  the  village 
we  thought  best  to  grant,  but  they  had  to  pay  fines  and  costs,  &c.,  amounting  to  about 
Rs.  IOC,  I  think,  and  they  have  promised  in  future  to  let  the  youth  alone.  The 
incident  has  proved  a  complete  success,  for  if  any  low  castes  wish  in  future  to  join 
the  church,  they  will  feel  at  liberty  to  do  so.  The  people  of  that  village  have  learned 
several  lessons.  And  I  want  to  say  that  all  along  the  self-control,  firmness,  and 
courage  of  the  youth  were  admirable,  and  showed  what  Christianity  could  do  even  for 
3  Pariah. 


TAI'AL    RUNNERS. 


ELEPHANTS    BATHIXG. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Brief  Visit  to  Newera  Ellia. 

Newera  Ellia,  July  301I1,  1SS5. 

YOU  will  see  by  the  heading  that  I  am  not  at  this  moment 
in  Jaffna,  but  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  on  the  top 
of  hills  over  5000  feet  above  the  sea.  I  have  come  here  for  a 
few  weeks  of  rest  at  the  invitation  of  a  lady,  the  wife  of  a 
missionary  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  1  hey  were  in 
Jaffna  for  some  years,  our  neighbouring  fellow-workers.  1"hey 
are  our  dear  friends,  and  "  esteemed  very  highly  in  love  for 
their  works'  sake  " 

I  was  very  glad  to  escape  for  a  little  while  from  the  trying  heat  of  Jaffna.  The  hot 
season  February  to  May,  was  unusually  long  this  year,  for  the  wind  was  late  m  coming  ; 
and  as'  we  had  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  work  on  our  hands,  three  of  the 
missionaries  being  absent  in  America  on  account  of  health,  I  suppose  I  must  have 
overworked  a  little,  for  I  began  to  be  very  easily  tired,  and  to  feel  unable  to  go  on 
with  my  duties.  Now,  after  a  little  perfect  quiet  and  freedom  from  care,  in  this 
deli.^htful  climate,  with  the  beautiful  wooded  hills  all  about  me,  reminders  of  the  dear 
hom'e  land,  and  a  pleasant  change  from  Jaffna  which  is  quite  flat,  I  feel  my  old 
self  again  am  able  to  eat  and  sleep  well  and  to  take  long  walks  of  two  or  three  miles 
mornin^^  and  evening.  I  shall  soon  return  to  Jaffna,  and  when  this  letter  reaches  you, 
you  may  think  of  me  as  back  again  at  Oodooville  with  our  108  girls  in  the  boarding- 
school,  and  with  sister,  who  has  been  finding  it  a  little  hard  to  be  without  me.  But 
she  has  been  going  on  with  the  work  nobly,  having  large  moonlight  meetings  and 
women's  meetings,  also  a  thank-offering   meeting,  besides  the  Sabbath-school,   whose 


A   VIEW    IN    CliVLON. 


A   TREE   FERN. 


numbers  have  now  swelled  to  340.  I  long  to  be  back  again.  I  shall  return  with 
new  courage,  and  hope  to  make  up  for  my  short  holiday  by  the  renewed  vigour  wiih 
which  I  shall  be  able  to  go  on  with  my  duties.  Sister  has  had  three  Christian  singers 
over  from  India  during  my  absence.  Two  were  from  the  Madura  Mission  and  one 
from  Trichinopoly,  South  India.  The  latter  chants  the  psalms  beautifully,  using  the 
Gregorian  or  Free  Chants,  which  are  very  easy,  and  which  are  liked  much  by  our 
native  Christians,  and  thus  God's  words  are  becoming  more  known  and  precious. 
The  Madura  men  have  been  teaching  some  of  the  beautiful  new  Christian  hymns 
and  lyrics  lately  composed  in  South   India,    adapted   to  native  tunes,   collected  an<l 


go  Sunstroke  Dangers. 

arranged  by  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Chandler,  of  the  Madura  Mission,  and  published  in  Madras 
by  the  Religious  Tract  Society.  The  singers  brought  over  3000  copies,  which  are 
beino-  eagerly  bought  up  by  our  native  Christians,  day-school  children,  and  even 
the  heathen  community.  These  new  songs  are  being  widely  learned  and  sung — one 
of  the  easiest  and  best  ways  of  diffusing  Christian  truth  AVhen  I  return  to  Jaffna 
we  hope  to  arrange  for  a  large  public  concert  of  Christian  song,  such  as  has  been 
held  on  two  previous  occasions. 

Now  I  will  tell  you  a  little  about  my  present  surroundings,  which  I  think  are  very 
beautiful.  The  house  in  which  I  am  is  situated  on  the  shore  of  a  little  lake,  some 
four  miles  in  circumference.  This  lake  is  nestled  in  the  lap  of  the  hills,  which 
surround  it  on  all  sides.  There  are  three  beautiful  little  waterfalls  in  sight,  winding 
down  the  sides  of  these  hills  like  silver  threads,  and  reminding  me  of  the  waterfalls  I 
saw  in  Switzerland  when  we  were  on  our  way  to  Ceylon.  There  are  many  well-kept 
carriage  drives  and  walks  all  about,  for  this  place  is  the  Government  Sanatorium  of 
the  island,  and  there  are  about  forty  European  residences,  besides  the  native  village. 
The  Governor  and  his  suite  come  here  in  the  season.     Then  the  place  is  very  gay. 

My  hostess — when  the  pony  is  at  home  and  not  in  use  by  her  husband  on  his 
preaching  tours  in  the  surrounding  estates — takes  me  out  for  long  and  pleasant  drives 
of  from  six  to  twelve  miles  in  the  afternoons,  which  I  much  enjoy,  and  we  come  home 
with  our  hands  full  of  wilJ  flowers  and  ferns.  The  air  is  mild,  and  the  thermometer 
is  at  65"^  in  the  middle  of  the  day  indoors.  So  we  sit  with  doors  and  windows  open, 
and  the  perfume  of  flowers  floating  in  and  filling  the  air  with  fragrance.  Flowers  grow 
here  so  easily,  and  many  varieties  are  in  bloom  in  the  garden  surrounding  the  house. 
Some  of  them  are  old  home  friends.  The  most  lovely  budded  roses  of  all  varieties 
thrive  well.  Mignonette,  fuchsia,  and  geraniums  grow  here  into  tall  shrubs  higher 
than  my  head.  Peach-trees  have  both  blossoms  and  fruit  at  the  same  time.  Orange- 
trecs  hang  golden  with  oranges.  Several  kinds  of  Australian  trees,  having  been  intro- 
duced into  the  country  some  time  ago,  now  grow  and  flourish  everywhere.  Great  tree 
ferns,  tossing  their  huge  soft  feathery  plumes  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high  in  the  air,  grow 
all  about,  and  are  my  constant  wonder  and  admiration.  There  are  many  kinds  of 
ferns  here  ;  I  am  making  a  collection  in  my  walks,  and  pressing  them  to  send  home. 

The  tropical  sun  retains  its  old  power  even  here,  and  one  cannot  long  be  out  under 
it  unprotected  without  getting  a  headache.  Some  people,  deceived  by  the  cool  air, 
go  out  in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  get  sunstroke.  One  man,  a  little  while  ago,  was 
struck  down  to  the  ground,  had  to  crawl  home  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  was  ill 
for  a  long  time  afterwards,  all  because  he  walked  out  in  the  sunshine  without  a  pith 
hat  or  umbrella. 


///  the  Interior.  8i 

All  this  interior  part  of  Ceylon  has  by  English  industry  and  ca[)ital  been  converted 
into  huge  tea  and  coffee  and  cinchona  estates.  Thousands  of  Tamil  coolies  come 
over  from  India,  and  are  employed  on  these  plantations.  There  is  a  railroad  from 
Colombo  to  this  place,  and  a  small  steamer  goes  round  the  island  twice  a  month.  It 
is  by  this  steamer  that  I  will  return  from  Colombo  to  Jaffna. 


THE   COFFEE    PLANT    IN    FLOVVKK    AND    FKllT. 


A   NATIVE  BOAT. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


Itinerating  on  the  Islands. 

Oodooville,  March  31,  1886. 
jITHIN  the  fourteen  months  since  we  wrote  to  you,  sixty  have  joined  the 
Oodooville  church  on  profession  of  faith,  thirty  from  the  villages,  and 
thirty  from  the  boarding-school.  It  was  an  interesting  thing  to  see 
young  girls  with  bright,  earnest  faces,  young  lads  in  the  promise  of 
manhood,  fathers  and  mothers  with  their  little  children  in  their  arms  or  clinging  to 
their  garments,  old  men  and  women  feeble  and  bowed  with  age,  one  leaning  on  his 
staff,  all  standing  up  together,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high  and  the  low,  together 
confessing  before  all  the  congregation  their  faith  in  Jesus  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
their  one  Lord. 

At  present  the  list  of  inquirers  connected  with  this  church  alone  numbers  130.  A 
copy  of  the  list  is  given  to  each  of  the  leading  church  members,  with  the  request  that 
they  will  pray  for  and  encourage  these  individuals.  Two  meetings  for  inquirers,  one 
for  women,  the  other  for  men,  are  regularly  held  every  Sabbath  immediately  after  the 
morning  service. 


Prize-day  at  Oodooville.  83 

In  Oodooville,  Manepy,  Navaly,  and  Panditeripu,  we  had  altogether  ten  Christmas- 
trees,  and  gave  away  to  the  Roll  of  Honour  children  102  Tamil  New  Testaments. 
Will  you  not  pray  with  us  that  God  will  bless  His  own  Word  to  these  young  hearts 
and  in  so  many  homes  ?  The  well-filled  home-boxes  received  from  America  just 
before  Christmas  lightened  our  labours  greatly,  and  made  the  occasions  very  happy 
ones  to  hundreds  of  pleased  recipients.  Could  the  children  at  home  who  prepared 
the  gifts  have  seen  the  joy  of  all  the  little  ones  here  who  received  them,  I  think 
they  would  have  felt  repaid  for  their  trouble.  The  more  expensive  picture-books, 
beautiful  scrap-books,  work  bags,  &c.,  which  seemeJ  too  choice  for  the  village 
children,  proved  just  the  thing  for  prizes  for  the  girls  of  the  boarding-school,  who 
were  glad  to  carry  them  home  and  show  them  with  pride  to  their  friends.  The 
total  attendance  at  all  our  Christmas-trees  was  over  three  thousand — men,  women,  and 
children. 

On  February  15  the  Oodooville  Girls'  Boarding  school  closed  its  school  yt:ar,  gradu- 
ating a  class  of  twenty-four  girls,  all  professing  Christians.  The  public  exercises  were 
attended  by  several  missionaries  and  by  a  large  numl)er  of  native  friends,  including 
many  of  the  leading  educated  men  and  women  of  Jaffna.  One  could  not  help  noting 
how  large  a  number  of  the  women  present  were  graduates  of  this  institution.  Their 
faces  showed  the  pleasure  they  had  in  revisiting  their  Alma  Mater,  and  listening  to  the 
recitations  and  songs  of  their  children  now  in  the  school.  All  the  graduating  class 
took  part  in  the  exercises,  eighteen  giving  short  English  recitations,  and  six  reading 
Tamil  essays  on  the  following  subjects  :  The  Women  of  India,  The  Wonders  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  The  Po.ver  of  Christianity,  Lord  Shaftesbury,  The  Duty  of  the 
Women  of  Jaffna  in  Regard  to  Temperance,  and  The  Class  History  and  Valedictory. 
The  exercises  were  varied  by  frequent  songs — a  Tamil  lyric,  a  motion  song,  a  children's 
English  play-song,  a  tonic  sol-fa  round,  a  chant,  two  English  part  songs,  and  a  good-bye 
lyric  composed  for  the  occasion  and  sung  responsively  by  the  graduating  class  and  the 
school.  Six  girls  also  in  turn  played  on  the  organ,  accompanying  the  singing.  At 
the  close,  the  chairman,  the  Rev.  Dr,  Hastings,  made  some  appropriate  remarks,  in 
which  he  pictured  the  condition  of  things  in  Jaffna  in  1816,  when  the  missionaries 
first  came.  Then  not  a  single  woman  or  girl  in  the  whole  peninsula  could  read. 
Now  there  are  nearly  5000  girls  studying  in  mission  schools,  400  of  whom  are  studying 
in  Mission  Girls'  Boarding-schools,  and  there  are  over  jooo  Native  Christian  female 
communicants  in  the  different  mission  churches,  many  of  them  actively  engaged  in 
work  for  Christ.  We  may  well  exclaim,  "  What  hath  God  wrought ! "  He  then 
presented  to  each  of  the  class  a  diploma,  a  Tamil  Reference  Bible,  and  a  lyric  and 
hymn-book.     Nineteen   prizes  were   awarded  for  general  scholarship,  as  well  as  for 


SHORE   LINED  WITH   PALMS. 


needlework  and  deportment  ;  eight  for  punctuality  and  attendance ;  three  for  instru- 
mental music  ;  four  for  neatness  of  person  and  dress  ;  and  two  for  cooking.  'I'he 
occasion  seems  to  have  been  enjoyed  by  all.  In  the  Government  Grant  Examination 
held  a  (qw  days  ago,  the  school  passed  eighty-four  per  cent.,  and  earned  2450 
rupees.*  ' 

The  day  after  the  graduating  exercises  of  our  boarding-school,  I  took  a  trip  to 
islands  lying  south-west  of  Jaffna.  These  have  a  population  of  28,000  people.  I 
took  with  me  our  tent,  folding  organ,  violin,  cymbals,  and  five  singing  children,  a 
native  pastor,  a  catechist,  a  Bible-woman,    and  two  young  men,    one  a  student  in 

*  This  school  receives  no  aid  from  any  missionary  society,  excepting  the  superintendence  of  the 
missionaries.  The  expenses  of  the  school  are  met  by  the  Government  grant,  the  fees  of  the  pupils, 
and  the  interest  of  an  endowment  and  scholarship  fund.  We  have  secured  subscriptions  toward  this 
fund,  mostly  from  native  sources,  of  Rs.  1 5,000.  Of  this  Rs.  7100  have  been  already  paid,  and  the  remain- 
der is  to  be  paid  in  monthly  or  quarterly  instalments  through  a  period  of  years.  Friends  of  this  school 
in  America  have  most  kindly  sent  to  us  or  paid  to  our  brother  sums  amounting  to  ;^l6o,  which  has 
been  invested  lor  the  school. 


Canapathy  85 

the  Theological  class  and  one  a  teacher  in  the  Tillipally  Training  School,  also  our 
magic-lantern  and  Bible  pictures.  We  visited  and  held  meetings  at  three  of  these 
islands,  but  spent  most  of  our  time  on  the  island  of  Delft.  This,  on  account  of  the 
meeting  of  different  currents  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the  shore,  is  quite  difficult  of 
access,  and  although  sometimes  visited  by  missionary  gentlemen,  it  has  never  before, 
within  the  knowledge  of  any  one  living  there,  so  I  was  told,  been  visited  by  any  white 
lady.  The  people  seemed  delighted  to  see  us,  and  we  had  on  the  evening  of  our 
arrival  a  meeting  of  i)erhaps  one  hundred  and  fifty — men,  women,  and  children.  We 
showed  our  magic-lantern  pictures  ;  first,  the  birth  of  Christ,  explaining  about  the 
coming  of  Christ  and  our  need  of  a  Saviour  ;  then  the  beautiful  pictures  of  Christ 
blessing  little  children,  raising  the  dead,  and  giving  sight  to  the  blind,  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  the  returning  prodigal,  &c.  All  listened  with  attention  and  great  interest. 
After  this  we  held  meetings  each  morning  and  evening,  and  visited  the  people  in  their 
homes  during  the  day,  but  not  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  as  the  sun  was  too  hot  to 
permit  our  going  out ;  but  at  that  time  the  people,  at  our  request,  visited  us.  This 
island  contains  about  2000  people.  The  most  of  the  lower  castes  have  become  Roman 
Catholics,  but  all  the  others  are  Sivites.  There  is  a  good  school  here,  supported  by 
the  Native  Missionary  Society,  with  an  attendance  of  about  fifty  children  taught  by  a 
Christian  teacher.  There  are  as  yet  no  converts  on  the  island,  except  a  young  boy, 
Canapathy  Pullay,  belonging  to  one  of  the  highest  families.  He  was  converted  while 
studying  under  this  teacher.  He  is  now  studying  in  our  English  school  at  Manepy, 
and  we  hope  when  he  shall  have  finished  his  studies  he  will  go  back  as  a  catechist  to 
work  on  his  native  island.  This  young  boy  was  at  home  while  we  were  there,  and 
wa:.  very  diligent  in  helping  to  arrange  for  our  meetings  and  in  calling  his  friends  to 
attend  them.  His  grandfather  is  the  most  influential  man  on  the  island,  and  is  now 
engaged  in  building  an  expensive  heathen  temple.  I  passed  it  in  company  with 
Canapathy  Pullay  as  we  were  calling  people  to  a  meeting,  and  as  we  looked  at  it  he 
brushed  the  tears  from  his  eyes  and  said  :  "  I  wish  my  grandfather  would  become 
a  Christian."  It  is  said  that,  if  this  man  should  become  a  Christian,  most  likely  man\ 
of  the  people  of  the  island  would  give  up  heathenism.  It  has  been  a  great  joy  to  us 
to  know  the  firmness  with  which  this  young  boy,  Canapathy  Pullay,  has  adhered 
to  Christianity,  refusing  in  any  way  to  participate  in  heathen  rites  or  ceremonies.  The 
grandfather  said  to  me  :  "  Take  the  boy ;  he  belongs  to  you  ;  he  has  given  up  his  old 
religion."  The  boy's  mother  and  her  four  sisters,  all  respectable  married  women  and 
much  adorned  with  jewellery,  came  to  see  me.  They  told  me  the  boy  had  said  I  was 
his  mother,  and  that  I  was  kind  to  him,  and  so  they  wanted  to  see  me.  I  told 
them  that  if  I  was  the  boy's  mother,  then   it   must    follow  that  they    were  my  sisters. 


86  Reluctant  to  Part. 

They  seized  the  idea  with  apparent  deUght,  and,  putting  their  arms  around  me,  covered 
my  hands  with  kisses  in  the  native  manner,  that  is,  smelling  them  as  if  smelling  a 
rose  or  something  fragrant.  I  told  them  that  if  they  were  my  sisters,  they  must 
become  Christians.  They  have  consented  to  let  Canapathy  Pullay's  sister  and  cousin 
join  our  boarding-school  next  year.  His  sister  is  a  beautiful  girl,  and  has  as  sweet 
a  smile  as  any  perhaps  I  have  ever  seen  on  a  child's  face.  We  also  took  with  us  on 
our  return  to  Jaffna  a  cousin  of  this  Canapathy  Pullay,  to  join  the  Tillipally  Training- 
school. 

I  think  our  meetings  w^ere  greatly  blessed.  Of  those  who  attended,  eleven 
expressed  a  wish  to  be  baptized,  and  to  be  known  thenceforth  as  Christians.  We 
formed  them  into  an  inquirers'  class,  and  asked  them  to  go  regularly  every  Sabbath 
morning  to  the  teacher's  house  to  be  instructed.  One  of  the  inquirers,  when  asked 
why  he  believed  in  Christ,  answered  with  emotion  :  "  I  have  heard  of  our  gods  fighting 
great  battles  and  doing  many  wonders,  but  I  have  never  heard  of  their  loving  us 
and  dying  to  save  us."  These  high  families  seem  to  be  all  related,  and  I  believe 
that  when  they  begin  to  become  Christians  they  will  all  come  together.  The  people 
were  very  kind  and  hospitable  to  us.  When  we  visited  a  house  the  first  question 
usually  asked  was  :  "  What  can  we  give  you  ? "  and  forthwith  they  would  hava  a 
cow  or  a  goat,  or  perhaps  a  buffalo,  lassoed  and  brought  to  the  door  and  milked,  and 
would  give  us  fresh  milk  to  drink.  They  drew  the  milk  into  a  hollow  bamboo-stick 
and  we  drank  it  from  a  folded  plantain-leaf. 

We  enjoyed  our  stay  very  much,  and  the  people  seemed  sorry  that  we  should  leave. 
Some  of  the  women  clung  to  me  and  said  :  "  You  must  stay  with  us."  This  I  would 
dearly  have  liked  to  do  but  for  my  much-loved  work  in  Jaffna.  But  I  thought  of 
my  wealthy  sisters  in  more  favoured  lands,  some  of  whom  could  be  spared  from  their 
homes.  They  are  spending  their  lime  perhaps  over  music,  painting,  or  such  things,  all 
well  enough  in  a  way,  but  I  wished  they  could  know  something  of  the  supreme  joy  of 
having  a  child  or  woman  with  a  dark  skin,  but  bright,,  intellectual  face,  look  up  into  theirs 
with  a  grateful  gaze  and  say :  "  You  have  made  known  to  me  my  Heavenly  Father." 
Could  you  bring  from  the  piano  a  strain  of  music  as  sweet  as  that  ?  Could  you  draw 
on  a  canvas  a  face  that  would  shine  like  such  a  face  ?  A  painter  once  said  to  me  : 
"  My  great  grief  is  that  my  pictures  cannot  breathe  or  speak,  that  the  heart  cannot 
beat  or  feel."  Cut  you  might  draw  pictures  on  faces  that  speak,  and  on  hearts  that 
feel.     We  bade  the  people  farewell,  promising  to  vi^it  them  soon  again  if  possible. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Gnanamutthu. 

Oodooville,  April,  1886. 
the  120  girls  who  are  now  studying  in  the  boarding-school,  fifty  are 
Church  members  and  seventy  are  not.  Many  of  those  who  have  entered 
the  school  this  year  were  from  heathen  families,  and  some  had  never  really 
heard  of  Christ  before.  A  little  girl  from  one  of  the  islands,  when  we 
told  her  of  heaven,  asked  in  great  wonder  if  we  had  come  from  there. 

To  lead  these  girls  to  Christ,  and  to  form  in  them  a  Christian  character  which  will 
stand  the  test  of  the  sore  trials  to  which  they  will  surely  be  exposed  hereafter — "  Who 
is  sufficient  for  these  things?"  and  the  time  so  short.  Every  year  girls  drop  out  from 
the  different  classes,  never  to  return  to  the  school.  Often  our  girls  are  taken  out  of 
the  school  to  be  married.  Their  heathen  parents  will  try  to  marry  them  to  heathen 
relatives.  What  we  do  must  be  done  quickly  and  well.  Will  you  not  specially  ask 
for  us  and  ours  God's  blessing  ?  We  thank  Him  daily  for  giving  us  so  large  a  number 
of  dear  ones  to  train  for  Him.     It  is  a  happy  work.     It  is  His  work. 

April  30///. — Jesus  has  called  one  of  our  dear  girls  home  to  Himself.  She  was  a 
day-scholar  of  the  boarding-school,  and  lived  with  her  parents,  who  are  Christians, 
only  two  or  three  compounds  from  us.  She  was  sick  but  a  few  days  and  her  death 
was  quite  unexpected,  but  the  Master  came  and  called  for  her.  It  is  a  joy  to  us  all  to 
feel  sure  that  she  was  ready  to  go.  Though  only  nine  years  old,  she  had  learned  to  love 
her  Saviour  and  to  work  for  Him  also.  Her  older  brother  joined  the  Church  at  the 
last  communion,  and  this  dear  child  Gnanamutthu  begged  hard  to  join,  but  her  parents 
thought  she  was  too  young.  Now  they  are  very  sorry.  Gnanamutthu  (Wisdom  Pearl) 
was  a  member  of  the  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endea\  our  and  one  of  the 
"  Look-out  Committee,"  and  a  faithful  little  worker.     The  subject  for  our  next  meeting, 


MISS    M.    W.    LEITCH    ANIJ    TAMIL    GIKLS. 


Idols  Powerless.  89 

appointed  at  our  last,  is  "  Heaven."  How  little  we  thought  that  before  the  next 
meeting  came  to  be  held  one  of  our  number  would  be  called  to  enter  there  !  How 
dear  and  real  has  the  place  now  become  ! 

Gnanamutthu  used  often  to  call  her  school-mates  and  hold  little  prayer-meetings  in 
lier  own  or  neighbouring  homes.  The  priest  of  a  neighbouring  Sivite  temple  told  us 
that  when  his  little  son  was  very  sick,  Gnanamutthu  came  to  the  house,  and  kneeling 
down  by  the  sick  child  prayed  so  earnestly  for  his  recovery  that  all  who  heard  it  said 
it  seemed  as  if  she  were  talking  with  God,  and  as  if  He  were  very  near.  The  child 
recovered,  and  the  father  believes  it  was  in  answer  to  her  prayer.  This  morning,  on 
going  to  the  funeral-house,  I  found  there  thirty  or  forty  of  the  heathen  neighbours  who 
had  come  m  of  their  own  accord,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  to  mourn 
for  the  dead.  These  women  were  beating  their  breasts  and  tearing  their  hair, 
and  swaying  their  bodies  back  and  forth,  and  all  together  uttering  piercing  shrieks. 
This  they  will  do  for  seven  days,  gathering  together  morning  and  evening.  Their 
cries  can  be  heard  a  long  distance  off.  iVt  my  coming  they  became  quiet,  and  I  spuke 
to  them  of  Jesus,  the  friend  of  little  children.  I  told  them  of  this  child's  faith  in  Hun, 
of  the  joy  and  peace  He  had  given  her  in  sickness,  and  of  the  glorious  happy  home  to 
which  we  believed  He  had  taken  her.  'I'hey  gathered  close  around  me  and  listened 
with  eager,  hungry  looks.  Many  of  them  had  lost  little  ones,  and  they  asked  if  I  thought 
they  would  ever  see  them  again.  One  said  her  little  babe  had  died,  but  she  supposed 
it  would  come  again  to  this  world  in  the  form  of  a  snake  or  a  rat,  or  some  other 
animal.  The  Hindus  believe  in  8,400,000  transmigrations.  How  glad  I  was  to  tell 
those  hungry  mother- hearts  of  a  better  hope,  a  hope  that  their  dear  infants  were 
gathered  in  the  Saviour's  arms,  to  "  go  no  more  out,"  but  to  be  for  ever  safe  and 
sheltered  in  His  bosom,  and  that  this  Saviour  was  their  Saviour  too  if  they  would  but 
come  to  Him,  and  that  He  had  taken  their  little  ones  in  love  that  they  might  follow 
after. 

When  I  left  the  house  one  of  the  women  walked  home  with  me.  She  said 
that,  since  the  death  of  her  two  Christian  children,  she  had  lost  faith  in  idols  and  had 
left  off  going  to  temples,  and  now  she  wanted  to  worship  the  Saviour  they  worshipped, 
and  to  meet  them  in  heaven. 

"  Let  sorrow  do  its  work, 

Send  grief  and  jjain  ; 
Sweet  are  Thy  messengers, 

Sweet  their  refrain, 
When  they  can  sing  with  nie 
More  love,  O  Christ,  to  Tliee, 

More  love  to  Thee." 


A    LillhUKtNi    UUTUOOR    MEETING. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

The  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavour. 

T  is  a  striking  truth  which  is  embodied  in  the  famiUar  saying,  "  The  boy  of 
to-day  is  the  man  of  to-morrow."     If  we  as  Missionaries  and  Christian 
workers  wish  to  win  and  hold  this  country  for  Christ,  we  must  win  and 
hold  the  children,  for  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  present  will  be  the  men 
and  women  of  the  future,  the  not  distant  but  near  future. 

A  little  boy,  when  asked  derisively  by  some  one,  "  What  are  little  boys  like  you 
good  for  ?  "  replied,  "  Please,  sir,  litde  boys  like  me  are  the  stuff  they  make  men  of." 
His  answer  was  one  which  every  worker  for  Christ  and  humanity  would  do  well  to  lay 
to  heart.  Work  for  the  children  is  the  strategic  point  in  our  campaign.  Men  and 
women  in  heathen  lands. are  bound  by  the  trammels  of  custom  and  habit,  their  minds 
are  darkened  by  superstition  and  worldly  wisdom,  and  their  consciences  hardened  by 
sin.  But  the  child's  heart  is  open  and  tender,  and  if  saved  and  won  to  Christ  it  is 
not  a  half-wasted  life  but  a  whole  life  saved  and  won. 

Two  questions  had  long  been  pressing  on  our  minds  in  connection  with  the  work 
for  the  children,  viz.  how  could  we  best  foster  the  spiritual  life  of  the  native  Christian 
children  and  train  them  into  useful  and  active  Christian  workers ;  and  how  could  we 
lead  heathen  children  to  take  a  first  step  toward  Christ,  by  giving  up  heathen  practices 
and  voluntarily  placing  themselves  under  Christian  influences  ?     On   reading  a  book 


Christian  "  Endeavourers"  91 

entitled  "  The  Children  and  the  Church,"  by  the  Rev.  F.  E.  Clark,  of  Boston, 
founder  of  "The  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavour,"  we  were  led  to 
feel  that  the  methods  of  this  society,  which  had  proved  so  successful  in  America, 
were  adapted  to  heathen  lands  as  well,  and  as  a  result  three  societies  bearing  this  name 
and  having  the  constitution  and  bye-laws  of  the  parent  society,  and  with  a  membership 
of  170,  have  been  formed  in  different  parts  of  our  field.  The  object  of  these  societies 
is,  "  To  promote  an  earnest  Christian  lile  among  the  members,  to  increase  their  mutual 
acquaintance,  and  to  make  them  more  useful  in  the  service  of  God."  The  members 
consist  of  two  classes,  Active  and  Associate,  and  the  President,  Vice-President, 
Secretary,  and  Treasurer,  are  chosen  from  among  the  active  members.  All  candidates 
applying  for  active  membership  are  required  to  sign  the  following  pledge  (I  append 
the  revised  version)  : — 

Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  strengtli,  I  promise  Ilim  that  I  will  strive  to  do  whatever  lie 
would  like  to  have  me  do  ;  that  I  will  make  it  the  rule  of  my  life  to  pray  and  to  read  the  Bible  every 
day  ;  that  1  will  support  my  own  church  in  every  way,  especially  by  attending  all  her  regular  Sunday 
and  mid-week  services,  unless  prevented  by  some  reason  which  I  can  conscientiously  give  to  my 
Saviour,  and  that,  just  so  far  as  I  know  how,  throughout  my  whole  life,  I  will  endeavour  to  lead  a 
Christian  life. 

As  an  active  member,  I  promise  to  be  true  to  all  my  duties,  to  be  present  at  and  to  take  some  part, 
aside  from  singing,  in  every  Christian  Endeavour  prayer-meeting,  unless  hindered  by  some  reason  which 
[  can  conscientiously  give  to  my  Lord  and  Master.  If  obliged  to  be  absent  from  the  monthly 
consecration  meeting  of  the  society,  I  will,  if  possible,  send  at  least  a  verse  of  Scripture  to  be  read  in 
response  to  my  name  at  the  roll-call. 

In  the  three  societies  formed  various  committees  have  been  appointed  from  among 
the  membership,  viz.  the  Prayer-meeting  Committee,  Sabbath  School  Committee, 
Missionary  Committee,  and,  most  important  of  all,  the  Lcok-out  Committee. 

It  is  delightful  to  see  how  heartily  the  young  people  enter  into  the  spirit  and  work 
of  the  society.  Oftentimes  the  native  pastor,  catechists,  and  teachers  attend  the 
weekly  prayer  meetings,  and  when  they  see  in  the  one  brief  hour  of  the  meeting  every 
member  as  far  as  possible  present  and  taking  some  part  either  by  offering  prayer, 
reciting  a  verse  of  Scripture,  or  speaking  a  {&\v  words  relative  to  the  appointed 
subject,  a  look  of  renewed  hope  comes  into  their  faces,  such  as  might  be  seen  on  the 
faces  of  old  veterans  when  they  behold  the  approach  of  reinforcements. 

On  Sabbath  mornings  all  the  Endeavourers  are  present  in  their  various  Sabbath 
schools,  which  are  growing  through  their  efforts.  After  the  Sabbath  school  comes  the 
morning  service,  when  the  native  pastors  give  to  their  people  good,  plain,  gospel  food, 
and  the  Endeavourers  sit  with  tlieir  Bibles  in  their  hands  ready  to  turn  up  the  passages 
read  or  quoted.  But  in  order  that  the  native  Christians  may  not  get  "spiritual 
dyspepsia"  by  eating  too  much  gospel  food  and  doing  too  little  gospel  work.  Sabbath 


Q2  TJu  Forest  and  the  Axe-heads. 

afternoons  are  devoted  to  direct  efforts  \\\  behalf  of  the  heathen  around.  At  about 
3.30  p.m.  small  companies  of  Christian  men  may  be  seen  going  out  in  different 
directions,  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  to  hold  evangelistic  meetings  or  to  conduct 
Sabbath  schools  in  the  surrounding  heathen  villages,  and  with  each  company  of  men 
may  be  seen  three  or  four  Endeavour  boys,  who  go  to  help  in  calling  in  the  people 
and  with  the  singing.  In  the  same  way  companies  of  native  Christian  women,  three 
or  four  in  a  company,  may  be  observed  going  out  in  different  directions  every  Sabbath 
afternoon  to  hold  meetings  in  different  villages  among  the  heathen  women,  and  with 
every  company  of  women  go  three  or  four  Endeavour  girls  to  carry  the  Bibles  and 
hymn-books,  to  help  gather  together  the  heathen  women  and  girls,  to  aid  in  the 
singing,  and  to  act  as  little  nurses  to  any  crying  babies,  so  that  the  mothers  may  be 
able  to  listen  without  distraction.  Many  meetings  are  thus  held  every  Sab')ath 
afternoon  by  the  native  Christians,  attended  by  hundreds  of  heathen. 

We  earnestly  desire  to  see  a  large  working  force  developed  in  our  Churches.  In 
the  great  fight  of  light  against  darkness,  truth  against  error,  we  must  gather  together 
and  enlist  the  young,  fresh  energies  of  the  Church.  "  Trained  under  the  arch  of  a 
solemn  covenant  daily  to  read  the  Scriptures,  and  pi  ay  in  secret  to  God,  and  weekly 
either  to  offer  public  prayer  or  bear  public  testimony  in  honour  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
their  only  Redeemer,"  we  trust  they  will  go  out  to  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith  as 
brave  soldiers  of  the  Cross.  If  India  and  Ceylon  are  to  be  won  for  Christ,  and  won 
soon,  every  native  Christian,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young,  must  be 
enlisted  as  a  warrior.  It  has  been  said  that  seven-eighths  of  all  who  have  been  brought 
to  Christ  in  China  have  been  won  by  the  efforts  of  converted  Chinese,  and  perhaps 
the  same  proportion  would  hold  true  of  converts  in  Ceylon  and  India.  A  Hindu 
gentleman,  after  listening  to  an  able  address  from  a  native  pastor,  made  the  following 
comment: — " Once  a  forest  was  told  that  a  load  of  axe-heads  had  come  10  cut  it 
down.  '  It  does  not  matter  in  the  least,'  said  the  forest.  '  They  will  never  succeed.' 
When,  however,  it  heard  that  some  of  its  own  branches  had  become  handles  to  the 
axe-heads,  it  said,  '  Now  we  have  no  longer  any  chance.'  So,"  said  this  gentleman, 
'•  as  long  as  we  only  had  foreigners  to  deal  with  we  were  safe,  but  now  that  every- 
where our  own  countrymen  are  enlisted  on  that  side,  certainly  our  faiths  are  doomed." 
This  utterance  is  significant  as  showing  the  impression  made  upon  the  Hindus  when 
the  Gospel  is  preached  to  then)  by  converted  Natives. 

If  the  hope  of  the  speedy  evangelization  of  India  and  Ceylon  lies  in  the  native 
agency,  then  surely  the  training  from  earliest  childhood  of  those  on  whom  are  soon 
to  devolve  such  great  responsibilities  is  a  task  worthy  of  the  best  efforts  of  the  most 
devoted  missionaries. 


"  The  M Ulster  and  the  Bairns. 


93 


We  all  remember  the  story  of  the  famous  master  at  Kisenat  h,  John  Tribonius,  who 
used  to  give  his  lessons  to  his  pui)ils  with  uncovered  head,  and  when  asked  why  he 
did  this,  he  rephed  that  it  was  to  honour  the  consuls,  chancellors,  doctors,  and 
masters  who  would  one  day  proceed  from  his  school.  "  Though  you  do  not  see  them 
with  their  badges,"  he  used  to  say,  "  it  is  right  to  show  them  respect."  And  in  that 
teacher's  school  at  that  time  was  a  boy  whose  words,  when  a  man,  were  to  shake  the 
world  ;  the  boy  Martin  Luther.  I  think,  as  I  look  into  the  faces  of  the  young  people 
of  the  Endeavour  Society,  "  These  boys  will  some  oi  them  be  pastors,  catechists,  or 
teachers  one  day,  and  these  girls  will  be  wives  and  mothers  in  the  homes,  teachers 
in  the  Sabbath  schools,  Bible-women,  and  Christian  workers."  Now,  when  their 
religious  instincts  are  so  strong,  their  consciences  so  tender,  their  young  hearts  so 
willing  and  eager,  with  what  care,  with  what  prayer,  with  what  love,  should  they  be 
nurtured  and  trained  for  the  service  of  Christ  and  the  Church. 

In  this  great  work  for  the  conversion  and  Christian  nurture  of  the  children,  may  we 
not  confidently  look  for  the  blessing  and  help  of  Him  who  took  up  little  children  in 
His  arms  and  blessed  them,  and  who  said,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  Me, 
and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  ? 


THE  MAISTFiR  AND  THE  BAIRNS. 
By  a  Young  Scottish  Port. 


The  Maister  sat  in  a  wee  cot  hoose 

Tae  the  Jordan's  waters  near, 
An'  the  fisher  fowk  crush'd  and  croodit  roun' 

Tlie  Maister's  words  tae  hear. 

An'  even  the  bairns  frae  the  near-l;an'  streets 

War  mixin'  in  \vi'  the  thr.ing, 
Laddies  an'  lassies  wi'  wee  bare  feet, 

jinkin'  the  crood  amany;. 

An'  ane  o'  the  Twal'  at  the  Maister's  side 

Rase  up  an'  cried  alood  — 
"  Come,  come,  baii'ns,  this  is  nae  place  for  you, 

Rin  awa'  hame  oot  o'  the  crood." 

But  the  Maister  said,  as  they  turned  awa', 
"  Let  the  wee  bairns  come  tae  Me  !  " 

An'  He  gaithered  them  roun'  Him  whar  He  sat, 
An'  liftit  ane  up  on  His  knee. 


Ay>  He  gaithered  them  roun'  Him  whar  Hesat, 

An'  straikit  their  curly  hair, 
An'  He  said  tae  the  won'erin'  fisher  fowk 

That  croodit  aroun'  Him  there — 

"Send  na  the  weans  awa'  frae  Me, 

But  raither  this  lesson  learn — 
That  nane'll  win  in  at  heaven's  yett 

That  isna  as  pure  as  a  bairn." 

An'  He  that  has  ta'en  us  for  kith  and  kin, 

Tho'  a'  Prince  o'  the  Far  Awa', 
Gaitliered  the  wee  anes  in  His  airms, 

An'  blessed  them  ane  an'  a'. 


O  Tliou  who  watchest  tiie  ways  o'  men, 
Keep  oor  feet  in  the  heavenly  airt. 

An'  bring  us  at  last  tae  Thy  hame  abune, 
As  pure  as  the  bairns  in  he'rt. 


PFARI.   FISHING. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Precious  Pearl. 

HEN  the  Society  of  Christian  Endeavour  was  started  in  Oodooville,  it  little 
boy  who  lived  near  the  church  was  attracted  by  the  singing,  and  always 
attended  the  meetings.  When  others  were  joining  the  society  he  came 
forward  and  said  he  wanted  to  join.  He  was  a  very  little  fellow,  and 
his  two  front  teeth  were  fallen  out,  so  that  he  spoke  with  a  Hsp.  His  head  was 
all  shaven  except  a  little  round  place  on  the  top,  where  the  hair  that  was  left 
was  tied  up  in  a  knot.  He  wore  a  yard  of  cloth  about  his  loins  and  that  was 
all.  This  little  half-naked  person,  with  his  head  only  a  little  higher  than  the  table, 
begged  to  join  the  society.  He  was  from  a  heathen  family.  My  first  thought 
was  that    he  was  too   young,  and  did    not  know    what    he    was    asking,  but  when  I 


Pearl  Fishers.  95 

told  him  so,  tears  began  to  yather  in  his  eyes.  He  did  not  know  how  to  pray,  so  one 
of  the  "  Look-out  Committee  "  promised  to  teach  him.  He  said  he  could  read,  but 
had  no  Bible  portion.  I  told  him  he  must  buy  one.  The  next  day,  to  my  surprise, 
he  came  bringing  some  vegetables  with  which  to  buy  a  Tamil  Gospel  of  r^IatiheA-. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  society  he  again  asked  leave  to  join.  He  showed  his 
Matthew's  Gospel  in  which,  according  to  our  rules,  he  had  read  ten  verses  a  day.  He 
had  learned  and  recited  the  Lord's  prayer.  He  said  he  would  soon  be  able  to  pray 
in  hii  own  words  like  the  other  children.  He  begged  to  join  the  society.  Seeing 
his  earnestness,  we  did  not  like  to  discourage  him,  and  as  the  "  Look-out  Committee  " 
favoured  it  and  said  they  would  look  after  him,  we  let  him  join.  So  he  came  up 
proudly  and  wrote  his  name,  Vidamutthu,  in  large  Tamil  letters.  His  name  means 
"  Precious  Pearl."     At  the  next  meeting  he  brought  in  two  of  his  companions. 

One  evening  that  week,  as  I  was  taking  a  moonlight  walk,  I  heard  a  little  voice 
laboriously  reading  something  aloud.  I  stopped  to  listen.  It  was  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount.  I  peeped  through  the  hedge  and  saw  a  family  circle  :  a  father,  mother,  and  four 
children,  all  listening,  and  this  little  seven-year-old  Vidamutthu  reading  aloud  by  the 
aid  of  a  dim  native  lamp.  I  thought  of  Jesus  taking  a  little  child  and  setting  him  in 
the  midst.  After  reading,  he  sang  the  verse  of  the  Christian  lyric  taught  in  the  day- 
schools  that  week,  and  then  he  prayed  a  little  prayer  and  at  its  close  recited  the 
Lord's  prayer.  I  stood  listening  without,  and  all  the  family  sat  quietly  listening 
within.  The  next  Sabbath  his  mother  came  to  church.  I  had  often  before  asked  her 
to  come,  and  so  had  our  Christian  women,  but  she  had  always  refused.  After  church 
a  Christian  woman  brought  her  to  the  inquirers'  meeting.  I  asked  her  what  had  led 
her  to  come  to  church.  She  said  that  her  little  son  had  begged  her  so  hard  to  come 
that  she  could  not  resist,  that  he  prayed  for  her  every  night,  and  that  she  had  decided 
to  be  a  Christian.  Since  then  she  has  come  regularly  to  church.  This  is  the  story  of 
how  one  little  "■  pearl  "  has  begun  to  reflect  Jesus. 

There  are  pearl  fisheries  otf  the  coast  of  Ceylon.  They  are  a  Government 
monopoly,  and  nobody  can  fish  for  pearls  except  those  appointed  by  Government. 
But  there  is  another  kind  of  fishery  in  Ceylon,  in  which  all  are  free  to  engage.  It 
belongs  to  Him  who  said,  "  Follow  Me,  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men,"  and 
every  little  boy  and  girl  in  the  home  and  who  gives  and  prays  for  Ceylon  has  a  share 
in  this  pearl  fishery,  and  can  gather  gems  for  the  Saviour's  crown. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Meenatchie,  the  Island  Girl. 

When  my  sister  made  a  tour  among  the  islands  west  of  Jaffna  she 
found  a  very  bright  Httle  girl  named  Meenatchie,  about  twelve  years 
of  age,  who  had  been  studying  in  a  heathen  school  and  had  learned 

to  read,  but  who  had  never  heard  of  Christ.     She  asked  the 

parents  to  allow  this  little  girl  to  be  educated  in  the  Oodooville 

Girls'  Boarding-school,  and  they  consented. 

There  is  a  custom  in  this  school  that,  when  a  new  class  is 

received,  each  of  the  older  girls  whj  have  been  pupils  in  the 

school  for  two  or  three  years  selects  a  girl  from  the  new  class 

as  one  for  whom  she  will  specially  care  ;  and  the  older  girl 

'•  mothers'"  the  litde  new  girl,  caring  for  her  comfort,  instruct- 
ing her  in  the  ways  of  the  school,  and  above  all  reading  a 

portion   of  the    Bible    with    her   morning   and    evening,  and 

teaching  her  to  pray.     There  is  a  row  of  small  rooms  called 

"  prayer-rooms  "  built  off  from  the  school,  into  which  the  girls 

can  go  and  be  quite  alone  for  private  prayers  as  often  as  they 

wish.     When  the  new  class  was  received  into  the  school,  one 

of  the  elder  girls  chose  Meenatchie  as  her  special  charge,  and 

began  to  teach  her  the  wonderful  stories  of  God's  love  for  us, 

of  a  Saviour  who  died  for  us,  and  of  a  heavenly  home.     These 

were  all  new  stories  to  the  little  girl.     After  a  few  days  she 

came  to  us  saying,  "The  other  girls  have  Bibles  of  their  own, 

MEENArCinK    (SEAIKU)    AND    HEK 
KKIEND. 


Earnest  Meeiiatchie.  97 

I  have  no  Bible.  My  father  did  not  give  me  a  Bible  with  my  other  books ;  what 
shall  1  do?"  We  gave  her  a  copy  of  one  of  the  gospels  in  Tamil.  A  gospel  costs 
just  a  penny  :  you  see  what  a  penny  will  do  if  drojiped  into  the  collection-box  by 
some  child  in  England  or  America.  It  will  give  a  gospel  of  Matthew  or  Mark  or  Luke 
or  John,  in  the  native  language,  to  some  boy  or  girl  in  India  or  Ceylon.  A  gospel, 
teUing  the  whole  story  of  the  life  of  Christ  and  the  words  of  Christ.  Is  it  not  a  good 
use  to  make  of  a  penny  ? 

We  told  Meenatchie  that  when  she  had  read  this  gospel  through,  and  could  tell 
something  of  what  it  said,  we  would  give  her  a  New  Testament.  We  noticed  her 
afterwards  diligently  reading  it  aloud  to  herself  out  of  school-hours.  A  few  days  later 
she  came  to  us,  saying,  "I  have  no  hymn-book  of  my  own,  and  I  do  wish  I  had 
one,  so  that  I  might  learn  to  sing  these  beautiful  hymns."  We  gave  her  a  little  book 
containing  twenty-four  Christian  hymns  in  the  Tamil  language.  This  ali-o  costs  just  a 
penny.  The  next  morning,  when  we  sang  the  opening  hymn,  Meenatchie  found  it  in 
her  new  hymn-book,  and  began  to  sing  with  the  others  at  the  top  of  her  voice,  though 
she  did  not  in  the  least  know  the  tune  :  such  was  her  eagerness  to  learn.  I  told 
her  she  must  sing  softly  and  listen  to  the  others.  She  did  this,  and  having  naturally  a 
good  ear  for  music,  she  soon  learned  to  sing  very  well  and  became  a  member  of 
our  school  choir. 

A  weekly  prayer-meeting  for  members  of  the  boarding-school  is  held  on  Friday 
afternoons.  At  the  first  prayer-meeting  in  the  new  term  there  was  much  interest 
manifested.  The  older  girls  felt  the  great  responsibility  which  rested  upon  them  with 
regard  to  the  younger  ones,  many  of  whom  had  come  from  heathen  homes,  and  had 
not  yet  given  their  hearts  to  Christ.  Some  of  the  younger  girls  had  begun  to  see 
their  need  of  a  Saviour,  and  many  earnest  prayers  were  offered.  At  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  I  said,  "Are  there  not  some  here  who  would  like  to  give  their  hearts  to 
Christ  to-day?  If  so,  will  they  not  come  to  my  room,  and  we  will  spend  a  little 
further  time  in  prayer?"  At  once  little  Meenatchie  came  to  my  side,  and,  slipping 
her  hand  into  mine,  said,  '■  Amma,  I'll  come."  Others  followed  her  example,  and 
more  than  thirty  girls  came  to  my  room  ;  many  prayed  with  tears  for  themselves, 
and  for  the  conversion  of  their  heathen  parents  and  relatives.  It  moved  me 
strangely  that  those  who  had  just  begun  to  know  a  little  of  Christ's  love  themselves 
were  longing  so  intensely  that  their  parents,  brothers,  and  sisters  should  know  >  too. 
We  continued  to  have  a  second  meeting  for  inquirers  after  the  first  for  some  time, 
and  I  think  these  meetings  were  blessed  to  the  girls.  Day  by  day.*  as  we  taughi 
Meenatchie,  it  seemed  to  us  that  her  heart  was  opening  to  the  truth,  just  as  a  flower 
opens  to  the  sunlight. 


98  Meenatchie  the  Missionary. 

After  Meenatchie  bad  been  in  the  school  a  month,  her  father  came  from  the  islands 
to  see  her.  i\s  she  saw  him  coming  in  at  the  gate  she  ran  from  the  playground  to 
meet  him,  and  my  sister,  who  was  standing  near,  heard  her  say  to  him,  "  I  am  so 
glad  to  see  you,  O  father  ;  I  want  you  to  become  a  Christian."  This  new-found  light 
and  joy  was  in  her  little  heart,  and  she  never  thought  of  keeping  it  all  to  herself; 
she  wanted  her  father  to  possess  it  too.  She  had  only  known  of  Chn'st  one  month, 
but  already  her  heart  had  come  in  some  measure  into  harmony  with  the  great  loving 
heart  of  Him  who  said,  "  Other  sheep  I  have  whicii  are  not  of  this  fold,  them  also  I 
must  bring" 

When  Meenatchie  had  been  two  months  in  the  school,  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  was  celebrated  one  Sabbath  in  the  church,  and  some  of  the  older  girls  of  the 
school  were  among  the  number  received  into  the  church-fold  on  profession  of  faith. 
Meenatchie  had  never  seen  a  Communion  Service  before.  It  was  all  new  to  her. 
At  its  close  she  came  to  us  and  said,  "  Please  tell  me  what  they  were  doing  in  the 
church  to-day."  We  explained  that  we  were  commemorating  Christ's  death,  because 
He  had  asked  those  who  loved  Him  to  do  so  in  remembrance  of  Him.  She  said 
eagerly,  "  Amma,  may  I  join  with  the  others  next  time  ?  "  She  loved  Christ,  and  when 
she  learned  that  He  had  told  us  to  do  this,  her  httle  heart  responded  "yes  "  to  His 
call ;  so  she  said,  "  May  I  join  next  time  ?  "  We  told  her  she  might  join  the  candi- 
dates' class  first  of  all,  which  she  did. 

At  the  end  of  three  months  a  brief  vacation  was  given  to  the  school,  and  before 
dismissing  the  girls,  my  sister  told  them  she  hoped  that  during  the  vacation  they 
would  all  attend  the  Sabbath  services  in  their  various  villages  with  their  parents,  and 
tlial  she  hoped  they  would  all  try  to  be  present  at  the  great  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
mission,  which  was  to  be  held  at  Batticotta.  In  giving  these  injunctions  she  did 
not  think  of  them  being  carried  out  by  Meenatchie,  as  her  parents  were  Hindoos, 
and  attended  neither  the  Sabbath  services  nor  the  Annual  iVleetings,  But  Meenatchie 
never  thought  my  sister  meant  her  remarks  for  others,  she  was  so  busy  taking  them 
ail  home  to  herself. 

On  going  to  her  island  home  she  took  her  Tamil  gospel  and  hymn-book,  and  the 
first  evening,  after  the  family  had  eaten  their  evening  meal  of  rice  and  curry,  and  were 
all  seated  on  the  veranda  enjoying  the  quiet  and  bright  moonlight  and  resting  after 
the  labours  of  the  day,  Meenatchie  said,  "  When  I  was  in  the  school,  I  learned  to 
sing  some  sweet  songs.  May  I  sing  them  now  ?"  They  readily  assented,  for  the  Tamil 
people  are  all  very  fond  of  singing.  Then  the  little  girl  sang  from  memory  several  of 
the  beautiful  Christian  hymns  which  she  had  learned.  After  this  she  said,  "  In  the 
school  I  read  some  good   stories  out  of  a  book.     May  I  read  some  of  them   to  you 


Led  by  a  Child.  99 

now  ?  "  They  assented,  as  Tamil  people  are  always  very  fond  of  stories,  and  often  at 
this,  the  resting-time  of  the  day,  amuse  each  other  by  telling  stories  and  riddles. 
Meenatchie  lighted  the  little  lamp,  which  is  of  the  simplest  construction— a  small 
earthen  vessel  with  oil  and  a  bit  of  twisted  cloth  for  a  wick,  and  read  to  them  from 
her  little  gospel  the  story  of  the  birth  of  Christ.  Then  she  said,  "I  learned  to  pray 
to  the  true  Lord  in  the  school,  may  I  pray  now  ?  "  There  was  a  dead  silence  in  the 
family  circle,  as  all  were  worshippers  of  idols.  But  the  brave  little  girl  knelt  down 
and  prayed  aloud  a  simple  childlike  prayer,  asking  the  true  God  for  Christ's  sake  to 
forgive  her  sins  and  help  her  to  do  right,  and  bless  her  dear  grandmother  and  father 
and  mother  and  brothers  and  sisters,  and  help  them  all  to  know  Him  and  love  Him. 
This  she  did  night  after  night  all  through  her  vacation,  reading,  singing,  praying  aloud, 
leading  the  family  devotions  by  the  light  of  a  little  dickering  lamp— herself  a  little 
lamp  struggling  to  shine  for  Jesus  in  the  gloom. 

When  the  Sabbath  came  she  said  to  her  father,  "  The  Ammas  told  me  that  I 
must  go  to  the  church  on  the  Sabbath,  father;  please  take  me  to  the  church."  But 
the  father  said,  "  No,  daughter,  I  cannot  take  you  to  the  church  ;  I  worship  Pulliar, 
and  Vedavan,  and  Kanther  Swami,  and  Siva.  If  I  went  to  the  Christian  church  all  the 
neighbours  would  laugh  at  me  and  say  I  had  become  a  Christian."  But  she  said, 
"  Oh,  please,  father,  take  me  to  the  church,  for  I  promised  the  Amma  that  I  would  go 
to  the  church ; "  and  she  began  to  weep  so  bitterly  that  she  was  unable  to  eat  her  break- 
fast. When  her  father  saw  this  his  heart  was  touched,  for  you  must  know  that  the  fathers' 
hearts  in  Ceylon  are  just  about  as  soft  as  the  fathers'  hearts  in  England  or  America, 
and  they  love  their  children  just  as  well,  and  are  as  ready  to  make  sacrifices  for  them. 
So  the  father  said,  "  Do  not  cry,  my  little  daughter  ;  I  will  go  with  you  this  one 
time."  He  went,  and  heard  the  singing,  the  reading,  the  prayers,  the  addresses  by  the 
native  Christian  catechist,  noted  the  quiet,  reverent  behaviour,  and  had  no  fault  to 
find  ;  so  at  the  invitation  of  the  catechist  he  came  again  the  next  Sabbath. 

When  my  sister  and  I  went  on  the  day  appointed  to  the  Annual  Meeting  at 
Batticotta,  who  did  we  see,  to  our  astonishment,  standing  in  the  doorway  of  the  church, 
but  the  little  Meenatchie  with  her  father  on  one  side  of  her  and  her  mother  on  the 
other,  her  face  radiant  with  joy  as  she  said  to  us,  "  Amma,  I've  brought  them."  And  so 
she  had  ;  yielding  to  her  daily  entreaties,  they  had  come  across  the  water  in  a  small  boat, 
and  then  a  good  many  miles  on  foot,  and  the  loving  earnestness  of  a  little  child  had 
been  the  motive  power.  They  enjoyed  the  Annual  Meeting,  and  were  much  impressed 
by  the  services,  and  by  the  large  orderly  assemblage  of  native  Christians — a  striking 
contrast  to  the  noisy  crowd  which  surrounds  the  heathen  temples  on  festival  occasions. 
When  the  new  term  commenced  the  father  and  mother  both  came,  bringing  Meenatchie 


lOO 


Meenatchie  the  Goddess. 


back  to  the  school,  and  they  brought  a  sheep  and  a  bottle  of  melted  butter  as  a 
present,  saying  that  their  daughter  had  improved  very  much  while  in  the  school  and 
had  been  a  good  girl  in  the  vacation,  and  they  wished  to  express  their  thanks  to  us. 
We  earnestly  begged  the  father  and  mother  to  attend  the  Christian  church  on  their 
island,  and  they  promised  to  do  so. 

Meenatchie  was  received  into  the  Christian  church  before  the  end  of  the  year.  It 
is  not  the  custom  to  receive  those  who  come  from  heathen  homes  until  they  have  been 
in  the  school  a  longer  time,  but  an  exception  was  made  in  the  case  of  Meenatchie,  as 
all  her  teachers  and  the  native  pastor  and  the  church  committee  felt  convinced  that 

she  was  truly  a  converted  child,  and 
that  in  her  daily  life  she  was  trying 
to  serve  Christ. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  look  of 
joy  on  her  face,  or  the  shining  in 
her  large,  beautiful  black  eyes,  as 
she  stood  up  to  be  received  with 
others  into  the  visible  church.  Did 
the  "  Father  of  lights "  see  the 
shining  too,  and  rejoice  with  His 
child?  The  joy  of  that  day,  and  of 
others  like  it,  a  hundred-fold  more 
than  repaid  us  for  any  little  sacrifices 
we  may  have  made  in  going  to  the 
mission-field. 

^^'hen  Meenatchie  was  baptized 
she  took  the  English  name,  Clara 
Kimball,  and  dropped  the  name 
Meenatchie,  which  is  the  name  of  a 
heathen  goddess,  whose  great  temple 
stands  in  Madura.  Little  Clara 
still  studies  in  the  Boarding-school, 
and  we  hope  that  when  she  gradu- 
ates she  may  go  back  to  her  island 
home,  followed  by  your  prayers,  to 
be  a  blessing  to  her  own  people. 


A   TOWER   OF  THE   TEMPLff   OF    J  HE   GODDESS   MEENATCHIE. 


THE  COBRA. 


Strong  drink  a  more  deadly  foe  to   India.     "  At  last  it 
biteth  lik<;  a  serpent  and  stingeth  like  an  adder." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Liquor  Traffic  a  Great  Foe 
OF  Missions. 

E  found  the  liquor  traffic,  autho- 
rized and  licensed  by  the  British 
Government,  a  great  foe  to 
Christian  work  in  North  Ceylon. 
The  voices  of  Rachels  -weeping  for  their 
children  and  refusing  to  be  comforted  fell 
on  our  ears  and  aroused  our  hearts.  Broken- 
hearted wives  and  mothers,  whose  husbands  or  sons  had  fallen  through  the  drink 
curse,  asked  us  lohy  such  temptations  were  placed  in  their  midst?  were  these  aliuays  to 
continue  ?  must  they  suffer  them  ?  The  Government  certainly  does  not  dream  of  the 
bitterness,  of  the  sorrow  and  despair  with  which  many  of  the  natives  look  upon  this 
absolutely  ruinous  traffic,  thrust  upon  them  against  their  wishes  for  the  sake  of  a 
revenue.  In  India  and  Ceylon  the  liquor  traffic  is  purely  a  Governjnent  monopoly. 
The  right  to  sell  liquor  in  a  district  is  sold  at  public  auction  to  the  highest  bidder. 
When  some  one  has  bought  the  right  and  promised  to  give  the  Government  a  large 
sum  of  money  for  the  same,  he  does  not  wish  to  be  a  loser  by  the  transaction,  so  he 
opens  as  many  liquor  shops  as  possible  in  the  district.  These  are  located  in  the 
towns  and  villages  near  the  tea  and  cinchona  estates,  in  the  mining  districts,  and  on 
the  roadsides  along  which  there  is  most  travel,  and  by  means  of  these  multiplied 
places  of  temptation  "a  nation  of  abstainers  is  fast  becoming  a  nation  of  drunkards.'' 

The  religions  of  the  Hindus,  Mohammedans,  and  Buddhists  forbid  the  use  of 
strong  drink,  and  formerly  the  people  of  India  and  Ceylon  were  for  the  most  part 
total  abstainers.  Formerly  spirits  were  high-priced  and  hard  to  get,  and  drunkenness 
was  uncommon  because  there  was  little  temptation  to  drink.  But  in  any  country  it 
the  facilities  for  obtaining  strong  drink  are  increised  the  consumption  is  increased  ; 
if  the  facilities  for  obtaining  strong  drink  are  diminished  the  consumption  is  diminished. 
In  India  and  Ceylon  the  facilities  for  obtaining  strong  drink  have  been  abnormally 
increased.  The  British  Government  for  the  sake  of  a  revenue  has  made  strong 
drink  to  be  cheap  and  plentiful.     In  Ceylon  nine  times  as  much  is  spent   for  strong 


I02  England! s  Shame  in  India. 

drink  as  is  expended  by  the  Government  for  education.  In  Bengal,  where  the 
"  outstill  "  system  prevails,  "  Bhuli  "  is  sold  for  four  annas  and  less  per  quart  bottle. 
In  that  province  the  excise  revenue  has  in  ten  years  increased  twenty-nine  lakhs  of 
rupees.  In  Assam  the  excise  revenue  has  trebled  in  ten  years.  In  the  North-West 
Provinces  the  excise  revenue  has  more  than  doubled  in  ten  years.  In  the  whole  of 
India  the  excise  revenue  has  increased  in  thirteen  years  seventy-five  per  cent  I 

Archdeacon  Farrar  said  in  a  recent  address,  "  It  is  now  a  considerable  time  ago 
that  an  Archdeacon  of  Bombay,  with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  gave  the  shocking 
testimony  in  public  that  for  every  Christian  whom  we  (Great  Britain)  had  made  in 
India  we  had  made  loo  drunkards."  What  do  these  figures  mean?  They  mean  that 
tens  of  thousands  and  hundred  of  thousands  of  people  in  India,  who  formerly  were 
total  abstainers,  have  fallen  before  the  multiplied  temptations  placed  before  them.  Is 
this  to  be  wondered  at  ?  If  men  and  women  in  Great  Britain  and  America,  with 
centuries  of  civilization  behind  them,  with  Christian  influences  all  around  them, 
cannot  withstand  the  temptation  of  the  open  public-house  and  liquor  saloon,  how 
could  it  be  hoped  that  the  poor  ignorant  people  of  India  could  withstand  such 
temptations  ?  Is  it  not  a  shame  to  place  such  temptations  in  the  presence  of  heathen 
peoples  ?  It  is  the  glory  of  the  strong  to  protect  the  weak.  Should  not  the  great 
British  nation  protect  rather  than  tempt  its  subject  races?  It  is  the  province  of 
Government  to  make  it  easy  to  do  right  and  hard  to  do  wrong,  but  in  India  in  the 
matter  of  this  liquor  traffic  Government  has  done  just  the  reverse. 

It  has  been  said  by  a  great  English  statesman  in  the  House  of  Commons  that 
"  the  combined  evils  of  war  and  pestilence  and  famine  are  not  so  great  as  those  evils 
which  flow  from  strong  drink  ; "  and  it  has  been  estimated  that  eighty-four  per  cent, 
of  the  crime  is  caused  either  directly  or  indirectly  by  strong  drink.  If  this  be  so,  has 
not  poor  India  crime  enough  of  its  own,  sorrow  and  poverty  enough  of  its  own,  without 
having  this,  the  curse  of  Great  Britain,  imported  into  India  and  fostered  there  against 
the  wishes  of  the  people,  for  the  sake  of  a  revenue  ?  Another  of  England's  great 
statesmen  has  said,  ^'  Gentlemen,  I  refuse  to  consider  a  question  of  revenue  alongside 
of  a  question  of  morals,"  and  he  has  said  again,  "^  Give  me  sober  and  industrious 
people,  and  I  will  soon  show  you  where  to  get  a  revenue." 

The  Government  in  India  for'  the  sake  of  a  revenue  creates  a  class  of  men  whose 
business  it  is  to  push  the  traffic  in  strong  drink.  Surely  a  revenue  should  be  paid  by 
men  who  are  able  to  pay  it.  We  should  not  tempt  men  to  give  up  their  purity  and 
allow  their  homes  to  be  destroyed  for  the  sake  of  a  revenue.  Some  one  has  said,  "  I 
feel  less  shame  for  the  savage  who,  with  rude  conscience  and  untaught  life,  turns 
cannibal  and  picks  the  bones  of  human  beings  that  he  may  live,  than  for  those  who 


hitevtperance  spreading  in  Ceylon. 


103 


stand  up  and  plead  that  this  traffic  may  exist  whicli  shall  take  the  money  out  of  the 
pockets  of  the  poor,  and  destroy  hearts  and  homes,  in  order  that  their  own  taxation 
may  be  lessened." 

Sometimes  it  is  said  by  Englishmen  when  speaking  of  India  and  Ceylon,  "  It  is 
true  that  the  liquor  shops  are  there,  but  the  natives  are  not  forced  to  drink."  Yet  we 
cannot  help  feeling  that  a  great  wrong  is  being  done,  because  those  ignorant  people 
are  being  tempted.  Is  it  right  to  tempt  ?  The  devil  does  not  lorce  people  to  do  wrong, 
he  only  tempts,  yet  the  devil  is  the  devil  because  his  business  is  to  tempt. 

We  were  grieved  to  find  that  intemperance  was  spreading  among  the  people  in 
North  Ceylon,  that  many  were  using  country-made  and  imported  liquors,  that  many 
families  were  in  great  sorrow  because  a  husband,  or  son,  or  brother,  having  gone  to 
some  of  the  large  towns  in  Ceylon  or  India  and  adopted  the  drinking  customs  now 
prevailing  in  those  towns,  had  learned  to  drink.  We  frequently  heard  the  most  pitiful 
tales  from  weeping  wives  and  mothers  in  many  villages  around  us.  We  began  to  hold 
temperance  meetings  among  our  people.  In  so  doing  we  felt  a  lack  of  temperance 
literature  in  the  native  language  ;  we  had  a  little  book  of  thirty-seven  temperance 
hymns  prepared  in  the  Tamil  language,  and  5,000  copies  of  this  book  printed.  We 
wished  to  have  temperance  tracts  to  circulate  among  the  people ;  we  therefore  had 
several  of  John  B.  Cough's  temperance  lecrures  translated,  and  circulated  in  Ceylon  a 
few  thousand  copies  which  had  been  printed  m  our  mission  press.  But  as  Tamil  is 
spoken  by  sixteen  millions  of  people  in  Southern  India,  and  as  we  knew  that  drinking 
habits  were  spreading  there,  and  in  all  parts  of  India  as  well,  we  wished  that  tliese 
temperance  lectures  might  be  circulated  among  these  millions,  so  that  they  might  not 
drink  blindly,  but  might  know  what  ruin  and  degradation  would  follow.  We  therefore 
made  arrangements  with  each  of 
the  five  great  Tract  Societies  of 
India  to  have  these  lectures,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  translated  and 
published  by  them  in  six  or  seven 
of  the  leading  languages  of  India. 
The  Madras  Tract  Society  has 
also  agreed  to  publish  a  temper- 
ance catechism  of  137  questions 
and  answers  which  we  had  had 
prepared  in  the  Tamil  language. 

We    held    many    temperance 
meetings  in  our  district,  and  at 


A    WAYSIUE    INN. 


IQ4  Abolition  Demanded. 

these  meetings  over  1400  pledges  were  taken.  But  although  we  have  worked  earnestly 
for  this  cause,  we  feel  as  if  w/iile  ive  have  been  trying  to  rescue  one  drunkard  the  liquor 
shops  have  been  making  ten.  The  petition  of  the  World's  Women's  Christian  Temperance 
Union  was  sent  to  us  for  circulation.  We  had  it  translated  into  Tamil  and  Singalese 
and  circulated  in  those  languages,  and  in  English,  circulating  at  the  same  time  a  some- 
what similar  petition  to  be  signed  by  men.  We  sent  these  petitions  to  various  mission- 
aries in  Ceylon,  who  gave  them  into  the  hands  of  their  native  pastors,  catechists, 
teachers,  and  Bible-women,  and  they  were  thus  circulated  by  responsible  parties. 
The  natives  in  general  expressed  great  eagerness  to  sign  the  petitions.  We  were  told 
that  many  Hindus  signed  these  petitions  with  a  prayer.  Raising  their  hands  and  eyes 
to  heaven,  they  would  say,  "Thervan  ethu  say-ert-thume,"  i.e.  "  May  the  Lord  prosper 
this."  In  traversing  India  in  1886  we  had  this  petition  translated  and  circulated  in 
ten  of  the  leading  Indian  languages  through  the  medium  of  the  five  great  Religious 
Tract  Societies  of  India.  We  secured  from  India  and  Ceylon  over  33,000  signatures  to 
these  petitions.  These  have  been  forwarded  to  the  secretary  of  the  World's  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union.  We  also  secured  the  insertion  of  temperance  articles 
in  many  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  India,  and  we  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing 
much  of  mission  work,  and  of  addressing  various  assemblies,  mission  schools,  ^c, 
during  our  visit.  We  have  great  pleasure  in  stating  that  throughout  this  tour,  in 
which  we  met  over  200  missionaries  and  were  entertained  in  many  mission  homes, 
we  never  saw  a  drop  of  strong  drink  on  any  missionary's  table  ;  and  we  found  many 
missionaries  to  be  earnest  temperance  workers,  having  total  abstinence  societies  in 
their  churches  and  schools.  We  pray  that  the  day  may  come  soon  when  every  foreign 
missiofiary  may  be  a  pledged  total  abstainer.  We  believe  these  petitions  voiced  the 
real  desire  of  the  people,  viz.  the  entire  abolition  of  the  traffic.  They  wonder  that 
the  British  Government  is  willing  to  take  a  revenue  from  such  a  source  ;  they  remind 
us  that  their  Hindu  and  Mohammedan  rulers  did  not  take  a  revenue  from  the  sale  of 
intoxicating  drinks,  but  instead  forbade  the  sale,  and  they  suggest  that  Indian  seas 
and  Indian  soil  furnish  better  sources  for  obtaining  a  revenue  than  the  liquor  traffic  ; 
they  would  ask  the  Christians  of  Great  Britain,  who  have  sent  them  the  Scriptures  in 
which  they  are  taught  to  pray,  "  Lead  us  not  into  temptation,"  that  this  great 
temptation  may  be  removed  from  them.  Can  nothing  be  done  to  give  the  people  a 
voice  in  this  matter  which  .so  clo.sely  affects  their  homes?  If  the  natives  of  Ceylon 
and  India  had  local  option  in  regard  to  this  matter,  they  would,  we  believe,  very 
quickly  shut  up  these  liquor  shops. 

Surgeon-Major  R.  Pringle,  M.IX,  of  Her  Majesty's  Bengal  Army,  after  thirty  years 
experience  in  India  says,  "  I  can  speak  for  ten  millions  in  the  North-West  Provinces, 


Gvvernmen  t  fostering  Evil.  i  o  5 

when  I  state  thU,  if  local  self-government  were  granted,  not  a  grog-shop  would 
remain  in  twelve  months  ;  the  Mohammedans  would  not  soil  their  fingers  with  rupees 
gathered  by  'shame-water,'  and  the  Hindu  vvould  gladly  avail  himself  of  the 
opportunity  of  showing  his  contempt  for  and  disgust  with  the  co-religionist  whose 
thirst  for  silver  was  so  great  that  he  bought  at  a  public  auction  the  privilege  to  sell  the 
Government  '  shame-water.' " 

A  native  of  India,  Nauda  Lai  Ghosh,  a  Barrister-at-Law,  says:  "  The  temperance 
question  is  not  only  a  question  of  morality,  but  also  an  economical  question.  About 
forty  millions  of  people  in  India  do  not  have  enough  of  food  from  year's  end  to  year's 
end,  and  w-hen  this  poison  of  drink  is  spreading  among  them,  what  will  be  the 
economical  condition  of  India?  We  have  statistics,  and  know  well  that  the  people 
are  in  abject  poverty,  and  yet  there  comes  the  demon  of  drink  to  intensify  their 
misery,  introduced  by  a  Christian  Government.  I  do  not  wish  to  blame  the 
Government  too  much,  but  I  hold  it  is  the  duty  of  all  Englishmen,  who  hold  the 
destiny  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  their  fellow-subjects  in  their  hands,  to 
stop  the  current  of  that  poison,  and  to  give  to  India  true  moral  teaching  instead.  I 
appeal  to  you  to  abolish  the  poison  of  drink.  We  have  municipal  institutions  en  the 
elective  and  nominative  basis,  and  I  think  it  is  high  time  the  Government  took  the 
matter  into  serious  consideration  and  allowed  local  option  instead  of  selling  licences  to 
the  highest  bidder." 

Is  the  liquor  traffic  to  be  allowed  to  entrench  itself  in  India  ?  Is  a  curse  to  come  to 
India  through  this  traffic  similar  to  that  which  has  come  to  China  through  the  opium 
traffic  forced  upon  her  by  the  British  Governmc7it  ?  There  are  those  who  say  that  the 
amount  of  strong  drink  consumed  in  India  in  proportion  to  the  population  is  small 
as  yet.  Perhaps  it  is,  but  it  is  a  growing  evil,  and  this  is  surely  cause  for  the  gravest 
concern.  When  the  opium  traffic  was  begun  with  China,  the  amount  sent  from  India 
was  200  cases,  and  though  some  protested  against  the  traffic,  the  public  conscience  of 
Great  Britain  was  lulled  to  sleep  by  being  told  "  two  hundred  cases  is  a  small  amount. 
The  traffic  is  a  little  thing."  But  can  we  ever  say  of  any  evil  "  It  is  a  little  thing  "  ? 
Now  the  amount  sent  annually  from  India  to  China  is  not  merely  200  cases,  but 
85,000  cases,  containing  over  5,000  tons  of  opium  !  All  this  is  exported  from  India, 
and  sent  to  debauch  the  Chinese.  The  British  Government  is  responsible  for  this 
traffic,  since  the  opium  in  India  is  a  monopoly  of  the  Government,  from 
which  it  derives  a  revenue  of  over  ^5,000,000  annually.  It  has  been  said  by 
the  missionaries  in  China  that  if  the  people  of  England  could  see  for  one 
hour  the  poverty  and  wretchedness,  the  ruin  and  death  caused  in  China 
by    the   use   of  opium,    they    would    be    horrified.     What    notion    of    the    justice 


io6  The  Opium  Barrier  against  Christ. 

of  Him  who  rules  the  world  must  be  have  who  supposes  that  a  nation  can 
commit  such  exceeding  wickedness  and  yet  escape  retribution  ?  '^  Be  not  deceived  : 
God  is  not  mocked,  for  whatsoever  a  man  (or  nation)  soweth,  that  shall  he 
also  reap."  There  is  no  power  on  earth  can  escape  from  this  sentence.  Returned 
missionaries  from  China  tell  us  that  this  traffic  is  "  one  huge  ministry  of  vice," 
and  is  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  evangelization  of  China.  When  the 
poor  opium  victim,  to  satisfy  his  fearful  craving,  has  sold  one  article  after  another,  till 
all  his  property  is  gone,  he  will,  in  many  instances,  sell  his  children  into  servitude  and 
his  wife  into  a  life  of  shame.  Missionaries  have  told  us  how,  powerless  to  interfere, 
they  have  stood  outside  of  Chinese  homes  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  heard  the  screams 
of  women  and  girls  who  were  being  sold  by  a  husband  or  father  into  a  life  worse  than 
death,  because  the  opium-smoker  must  have  money  with  which  to  buy  the  drug. 
To-day,  while  we  sit  in  our  comfortable  homes,  there  are  tens  of  thousands  of  families 
in  China  suffering  unspeakable  misery  on  account  of  Great  Britain's  dealing  with  that 
nation  in  this  matter.  When  one  of  the  missionaries  in  China  was  preaching  to  a 
company  in  the  open-air,  and  speaking  about  hell,  one  in  the  crowd  replied,  "  Yes, 
we  know  about  hell ;  since  England  sent  us  the  opium  China  has  become  a  hell." 
On  another  occasion,  when  a  missionary  was  urging  some  Chinese  hearers  to  accept 
Christ,  one  old  woman  said,  "  Was  it  not  your  country  that  sent  us  the  opium? 
Well,  we  don't  want  your  opium,  and  we  don't  want  your  Christ."  Oh  !  what  a  blot 
is  thus  put  upon  that  Name  which  is  above  every  name,  because  a  so-called  Christian 
nation  engages  in  this  accursed  and  soul-destroying  traffic  !  The  Rev.  J.  Hudson 
Taylor,  Director  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  at  the  great  Missionary  Conference 
held  in  London  in  1888,  said,  '*■  When  we  look  back  to  eighty  years  of  missionary 
labour  in  China,  and  compare  it  with  the  results  of  eighty  years  of  commmercial 
labour.  I  am  afraid  our  brows  must  be  covered  with  shame  and  our  hearts  filled 
with  sorrow.  After  eighty  years  of  missionary  labour  we  are  thankful  for  thirty-two 
thousand  communicants.  After  eighty  years  of  commercial  labour  there  are  one 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  the  Chinese  who  are  either  personally  smokers  of  the 
opium  or  sufferers  by  the  opium  vice  of  husband  or  wife,  father  or  mother,  or  some 
relative.  You  may  go  through  China,  and  you  will  find  thousands — I  can  safely  say 
tens  of  thousands— of  towns  and  villages  in  which  there  are  but  small  traces  of  the 
Bible  or  of  Christian  influence.  You  will  scarcely  find  a  hamlet  in  which  the  opium- 
pipe  does  not  reign.  Ah  !  we  have  given  China  something  besides  the  Gospel; 
something  that  is  doing  more  harm  in  a  week  than  the  united  efforts  of  all  out 
Christian  Missionaries  are  doing  good  in  a  year.  Oh,  the  evils  of  ojjium  !  The  slave 
trade  was  bad ;  the  drink  is  bad  ;  the  licensing  of  vice  is  bad  ;  but  the  opium  traffic  is 


THE   STACKING    ROOM    IN    THE   GOVERNMENT   OPIUM    FAC'IORY    AT    I'ATNA. 

the  sum  of  all  villanies.  It  debauches  more  families  than  drink,  it  makes  more  slaves 
directly  than  the  slave  trade,  and  it  demoralizes  more  lives  than  all  the  licensing 
systems  in  the  world.  Will  you  not  pray,  my  friends  ?  I  entreat  you  to  pray  to  the 
mighty  God  that  He  will  bring  this  great  evil  to  an  end.  The  common  reason  brought 
forward  in  extenuation  of  the  traffic  is  this  :—' England  cannot  afford  to  do  right.' 
Now,  I  would  say,  England  cannot  afford  to  do  wrong.  Nay,  you  must  not  do  one 
wrong  thing  to  escape  another.  It  is  said  you  must  not  starve  India  in  order  to 
deliver  China.  My  dear  friends,  it  is  always  right  to  do  right,  and  the  God  in 
heaven,  who  is  the  great  Governor  of  the  Universe,  never  created  this  world  on  such 
lines  that  the  only  way  to  properly  govern  India  was  to  curse  China.  There  is  no 
curse  in  God's  government.  The  Indian  Government  has  taken  this  ground — that  it 
has  the  right  to  prevent  the  production  of  opium,  except  at  the  Government  factories. 
Let  it  add  to  this,  that  it  shall  not  be  produced  at  the  Government  factories,  and  we 
ask  no  more." 

The  late  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  well  said,  "  Let  every  missionary,  and  every  lay  agent, 
and  every  woman,  and  every  child,  refrain  from  being  silent  upon  that  question  "  (the 


io8  British  Churches  Responsible. 

opium  question).  Henry  Richards  on  one  occasion  used  these  words  : — "  I  am  not 
ashamed  to  say  that  I  am  one  of  those  who  beHeve  that  there  is  a  God  who  ruleth  in 
the  kingdom  of  men,  and  that  it  is  not  safe  for  a  community,  any  more  than  an 
individual,  recklessly  and  habitually  to  affront  those  great  principles  of  truth,  and 
justice,  and  humanity,  on  which,  I  believe,  He  governs  the  world.  And  we  may  be 
quite  sure  of  this,  that,  in  spite  of  our  pride  of  place  and  power,  in  spite  of  our  vast 
possessions  and  enormous  resources,  in  spite  of  our  boasted  forces  by  land  and  sea — 
if  we  come  into  conflict  with  that  Power  we  shall  be  crushed  like  an  egg-shell  against 
a  granite  rock." 

This  opium  traffic  between  India  and  China,  for  which  the  British  Government  is 
responsible,  is  a  great  national  sin,  and,  if  unrepented  of,  will  surely  be  followed  by 
national  judgment,  for  the  government  of  God  is  just,  the  government  of  God  is  retri- 
butive, and  if  God  calls  Great  Britain  to  an  account,  will  He  not  call  every  man  and 
uioinan  in  Great  Britaiii  to  an  account  ?  For  the  nation  is  made  up  of  individuals, 
and  will  He  not  hold  each  one  responsible — not  only  for  what  they  are  doing,  but  for 
all  they  might  do  ?  What  makes  it  possible  for  these  great  evils — the  liquor  traffic  in 
India  and  the  opium  traffic  with  China — to  exist  under  British  rule?  Public  senti- 
ment in  Great  Britain  makes  it  possible.  The  British  Government  is  a  government  by  the 
people  ;  therefore  these  great  evils  exist  because  the  people  of  Great  Britain  are  willing 
that  they  should  exist,  and  the  work  to  be  done  by  those  who  love  India,  and  China, 
and  Great  Britain  herself,  is  to  arouse  a  Christian  public  sentiment  in  Britain  which 
shall  demand  the  overthroiv  of  these  evils.  Have  not  the  Christian  Churches  of  Britain 
the  power,  if  they  were  thoroughly  awake  and  in  earnest,  to  create  a  public  sentiment 
which  would  demand  of  Parliament,  in  the  name  of  God  and  of  humanity,  that  these 
two  great  iniquities  should  be  prohibited?  They  have  the  power,  and  if  these  evils  go 
on  in  the  future  it  will  not  be  because  the  Churches  of  Great  Britain  could  not  stop 
them,  but  because  these  churches  were  asleep,  and  7i:'oi/ld  not  stop  them,  and  God  will 
hold  the  Churches  responsible  for  the  continuation  of  these  evils. 

Some  one  asked  the  venerable  Dr.  Beecher,  "  How  long  must  the  liquor  traffic 
continue  ?  "  His  reply  was,  '^  Just  as  long  as  the  Christian  Churches  are  willing  that 
it  should^  and  not  a  day  longer.'^  "The  measure  of  our  ability  is  the  measure  uf  our 
responsibility.'^  Not  to  protest  against  this  evil — not  to  act — is  to  acquiesce,  and 
that  is  complicity  with  the  evil.  "  To  him  that  knoweth  to  do  good  and  doeth  it  not, 
to  him  it  is  sin."  We  are  accustomed  to  think  that  at  the  last  day  we  shall  be  judged 
on  account  of  what  we  have  done.  Perhaps  we  siiall  rather  be  judged  for  what  we 
have  failed  to  do.  Christ  has  told  us  He  will  say  to  some  at  that  day,  "  1  was  an 
hungred,  and  ye  gave  Me  no  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me  no  drink  ;  I  was  a 


Denioralization  of  Native  Races.  109 

stranger,  and  ye  took  Me  not  in  ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  Me  not ;  sick,  and  in  prison,  and 
ye  visited  Me  not.  Jnasniuch  as  ye  did  it  Nor  to  one  of  the  least  of  these^  ye  did  it 
NOT  JO  Me." 

Look  at  the  magnitude  of  the  evil  of  the  Hquor  traffic.  See,  for  example,  what  is 
going  on  in  Africa.  It  has  been  said  that  for  one  missionary  sent  to  Africa  to 
evangelize  its  heathen  tribes  there  are  sent  70,000  barrels  of  rum  for  purposes  of 
barter.  It  was  stated  in  the  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer  that  on  250  miles  of 
coast-line  in  the  tropical  region  of  Africa  — on  the  west  coast — no  less  than  twenty 
ships  a  year  arrive  there,  with,  on  an  average,  a  thousand  tons  of  intoxicating  drink 
on  each  of  them.  Think  of  it — twetity  thousand  tons  of  intoxicating  drink  every  year 
poured  in  on  that  limited  tract  of  country  !  One  of  the  missionaries  connected  with 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  says,  "  If  this  thing  is  continued,  it  is  only  a  question 
of  a  few  years  for  me  and  my  people."  Sir  Richard  Burton,  the  great  African  traveller, 
writes,  "  It  is  my  sincere  belief  that  if  the  slave  trade  were  revived,  with  all  its  horrors, 
and  AJrica  could  get  rid  of  the  white  man,  ivith  the  gunpowder  and  rum  which  he  has 
introduced,  Africa  would  be  a  gainer  in  happiness  by  the  exchanger  Sir  Charles  W' arren, 
late  Commissioner  to  South  Africa,  has  said,  '■'■  The  blood  of  thousands  of  natives  is  at 
the  present  time  crying  to  heaven  against  the  British  race,  and  yet,  from  motives  of 
ex[)ediency,  we  refuse  to  take  any  action." 

From  a  memorial  sent  out  by  the  World's  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union 
the  fijllowing  statement  is  made: — "  It  is  a  fully  authenticated  fact  that,  through  the 
operation  of  a  few  merchants  and  trading  companies  in  America,  Germany,  Holland, 
England,  France,  and  Portugal,  a  flood  of  deadly,  intoxicating  liquor  is  being  poured 
into  the  Congo  Free  State  and  the  Basin  of  the  Niger.  During  the  year  1885  (the 
last  year  for  which  we  have  full  statistics)  more  than  ten  niillion  gallons  o(  the  cheapest 
and  vilest  spirits  ever  manufactured  were  sent  from  these  six  Christian  countries  to  the 
ignorant  savages  of  Africa."  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Hind,  speaking  on  the  subject  of  this 
memorial  before  the  great  Missionary  Conference  held  in  London  in  1888,  said: — 
"  We  have  been  trying  to  keep  the  Atlantic  back  with  a  broom  too  many  years.  We 
want  to  get  at  the  great  basal  truth, prohibition,  so  that  the  liquor  does  not  goto  these 
parts.  This  memorial  is  sent  out  by  the  W.C.T.U.  of  the  World.  They  have  nothing 
to  do  with  any  other  parish  than  the  world.  Beloved,  it  is  too  late  in  the  day  for  us 
to  do  anything  else  than  sound  the  note  of  prohibition.  And  as  to  the  matter  of 
revenue,  God  forbid  I  should  mention  it.  //  is  a  burning  shame  to  our  Christian 
nations  to  talk  about  a  revenue  that  comes  from  the  blood,  and  tears,  and  cries,  and 
groans,  and  moans,  and  the  damnation  of  thousands  of  precious  souls." 

Is  it  nothing  \o  us  that  whole  nations  are  being  demoralized  by   this  iniquitous 


no  A  Revenue  of  Blood  Money. 

traffic  %  If  some  one  were  to  tempt  and  ruin  your  sons  and  daughters,  you  would  feel 
it,  but  these  are  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  Living  God.  He  made  them.  He  cares 
for  them.  He  gave  His  Son  for  their  redemption.  Will  He  not  call  professing 
Christians  to  account  for  their  negligence  and  inditference  towards  this  evil,  which 
is  causing  the  ruin  of  millions  for  whom  Christ  died  ?  Paul  says  : — "  To  the  7veaTi 
became  I  as  weak,  that  I  might  gain  the  lueak.  I  am  made  all  things  to  all  7nen, 
that  I  might  by  all  means  save  some."  And  he  admonishes  us  : — "  We,  then,  that 
are  strong  ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak,  a?id  not  to  please  ourselves.  For 
even  Christ  pleased  not  Himself"  Remembering  the  ^r^^r/ sacrifice  which  He  made  for 
us,  would  that  those  everywhere  who  profess  His  name  might  make  the  little  sacrifice 
of  banishing  strong  drink  as  a  beverage  from  their  tables  and  homes,  and  give  the 
influence  of  their  example,  as  well  as  their  prayers  and  most  earnest  efforts,  to  the 
overthrowing  of  the  great  evil  which  is  ruining  so  many  millions  of  mankind.  When 
Christ  our  Lord  and  Master  was  on  this  earth,  He  gave  us  the  great  command  :  — 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thine  heart,  a?id  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 
Love  will  not  sit  idly  down  in  despair.  Be  the  task  never  so  gigantic,  "  love  will  find 
out  a  way." 

Clarkson,  in  contemplating  the  horrors  of  the  slave  trade,  said  to  himself  that  "  if 
these  things  were  true,  it  was  time  that  somebody  should  see  these  calamities  to  an 
end,"  and  forthwith  he  went  to  work,  with  heart  and  soul  and  mind  on  fire,  with  an 
energy  that  never  tired,  and  faith  that  never  faltered,  till  God  crowned  his  Herculean 
efforts  with  success.  He  had  to  work  in  the  face  of  fierce  opposition.  Cool-headed 
and  cool-hearted  men  pronounced  against  the  enterprise.  Boswell,  in  his  "  Life  of 
Johnson,"  said  that  "  to  abolish  the  slave  trade  would  be  to  shut  the  gates  of  mercy 
on  mankind."  We  are  told  by  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  in  her  "  Sunny 
Memories/'  that,  "  As  usual,  the  cause  of  oppression  w-as  defended  by  the  most 
impudent  lying.  The  slave  trade  was  asserted  to  be  the  latest  revised  edition  of 
philanthropy." 

It  was  said  that  the  poor  African — the  slave  of  miserable  oppression  in  his  own 
country — was  wafted  by  it  to  an  asylum  in  a  Christian  land  ;  that  the  middle  passage 
was  to  the  poor  negro  a  perfect  elysium,  infinitely  happier  than  anything  he  had  ever 
known  in  his  own  country.  All  this  was  said  while  manacles,  and  handcuffs,  and 
thumbscrews,  and  instruments  to  force  open  the  mouth,  were  a  regular  part  of  the 
stock  for  a  slave-ship,  and  were  hanging  in  the  shop  windows  of  Liverpool  for  sale. 
It  was  perfectly  well  known  that  in  very  many  cases  slave  traders  made  direct 
incursions  into  the  country,  kidnapped  and  carried  off  the  inhabitants  of  whole 
villages,    but   the   question  was,   how   to   prove   it.     A   gentleman  whom    Clarkson 


Wanted — a  Clarkson.  1 1 1 

accidentally  met  on  one  of  his  journeys  informed  him  that  he  had  been  in  company 
about  a  year  before  with  a  sailor — a  very  respectable-looking  young  man— who  had 
actually  been  engaged -in  one  of  these  expeditions.  He  had  spent  half  an  hour  with 
him  at  an  inn.  He  described  his  person,  but  knew  nothing  of  his  name  or  place  of 
abode.  All  that  he  knew  was  that  he  belonged  to  a  ship  of  war  in  ordinary,  but 
knew  nothing  of  the  post.  Clarkson  determined  that  this  man  should  be  produced  as 
a  witness,  and  knew  no  better  way  than  to  go  personally  to  all  the  ships  in  ordinary 
until  the  individual  was  found.  He  actually  visited  every  seaport  town,  and  boarded 
every  ship,  till,  in  the  very  last  port  and  in  the  very  last  ship  which  remained,  the 
individual  was  found,  and  found  to  be  possessed  of  just  the  facts  and  information 
which  were  necessary.  For  seven  years  Clarkson  maintained  a  correspondence  with 
400  persons  with  his  own  hand.  He  annually  wrote  a  book  on  behalf  of  the  cause. 
In  that  time  he  had  travelled  more  than  35,000  miles  in  search  of  evidence.  By  the 
labours  of  Clarkson  and  his  companions  an  incredible  excitement  was  produced 
throughout  all  England.  Pictures  and  models  of  slave-ships,  accounts  of  the 
cruelties  practised  in  the  trade,  were  cwcvX'SXt^'ivithaii  industry  luhich  left  not  a  man,  or 
woman,  or  child  in  England  uninstructed.  After  the  committee  had  published  the  facts 
and  sent  them  to  every  town  in  England,  Clarkson  followed  them  up  by  journeying 
to  all  the  places  to  see  that  they  were  read  and  attended  to.  Of  the  state  of  feeling 
at  this  time  Clarkson  writes  : — "  First,  I  may  observe  that  there  was  no  town  through 
which  I  passed  in  which  there  was  not  some  one  individual  who  had  left  off  the  use 
of  sugar.  In  the  smaller  towns  there  were  from  ten  to  fifty  by  estimation,  and  in  the 
larger  from  200  to  500  who  made  this  sacrifice  to  virtue.  These  were  of  all  ranks 
and  parties.  Rich  and  poor.  Churchmen  and  Dissenters,  had  adopted  the  measure. 
Even  grocers  had  left  off  trading  in  the  article  in  some  places.  In  gentlemen's 
families  where  the  master  had  set  the  example  the  servants  had  often  voluntarily 
followed  it,  and  even  children  who  were  capable  of  understanding  the  history  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  Africans  excluded,  with  the  most  virtuous  resolution,  the  sweets  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed  from  their  lips.  By  the  best  computation  I  was 
able  to  make  from  notes  taken  down  in  my  journey,  no  fewer  than  300,000  persons 
had  abandoned  the  use  of  sugar."  It  was  the  reality,  depth,  and  earnestness  0/  the  public 
feeling  thus  roused  which  pressed  7vith  resistless  force  upon  the  Government,  for  the  Govern- 
ment of  England  yields  to  popular  demands  quite  as  readily  as  that  of  America. 
After  years  of  protracted  struggle,  the  victory  was  at  last  won.  The  slave  trade  was 
finally  abolished  throughout  the  British  Empire.  At  this  time  the  religious  mind  and 
conscience  of  England  gained  through  this  very  struggle  a  power  which  it  has  never 
lost.     The    principle  adopted  by  them   was   the  .same  so  sublimely  adopted  by  the 


1 1 2  The  Victory  Sure. 

Church  in  America  with  reference  to  the  foreign  missionary  cause  :  "  The  field  is  the 
world !  "  Shall  not  those  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  care  for  the  welfare  of 
their  fellow-men,  encouraged  by  the  example  of  such  heroic  toilers  as  Clarkson,  work 
with  like  self-denying  earnestness,  unwavering  faith,  and  whole-hearted  devotion  toward 
the  emancipation  of  their  brothers  and  sisters,  all  the  avorld  around,  from  a  more 
fearful  slavery,  the  slavery  of  strong  drink  and  opium,  by  the  entire  abolition  of  these 
traffics  ?  We  believe  in  the  possible  and  final  overthrow  of  these  traffics,  just  because 
we  beUeve  in  God.  We  have  the  glorious  promise  that  one  day  "  the  earth  shall  be 
full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea."  Let  us  work  in  hope, 
because,  "  if  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?  "  Though  few  in  numbers,  we 
are  not  in  the  minority ;  we  are  in  the  majority,  for  "  one  with  God  is  a  majority." 

"  Histoiy's  pages  but  record 

One  death -grapple  in  the  darkness, 
'Twixt  old  systems  and  the  Word. 
Truth  for  ever  on  the  scaffold  — 
Wrong  for  ever  on  the  throne. 
Vet  that  scaffold  sways  the  future, 
And  behind  the  dim  unknown 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow, 
Keeping  watch  above  His  own." 

If  He  is  but  watching  over  us  and  caring  for  the  cause  so  dear  to  us,  then  we  can 
labour  on  in  boundless  hope,  knowing  that  the  truth  and  the  right  are  sure  to  prei-iiil. 
"He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged  till  He  have  set  judgment  in  the  earth." 
Christ  taught  His  disciples  to  pray,  "  Thy  kingdom  come ;  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth 
as  it  is  in  heaven."  All  down  the  ages  men  and  women  have  been  praying  that 
prayer.  Would  Christ  have  taught  us  to  pray  that  prayer  if  He  had  never  intended 
to  answer  it?  Surely  He  is  the  hearer  and  answerer  of  prayer.  Surelv  He  means  to 
answer  that  prayer,  and  the  time  will  come  when  men  on  earth  will  do  His  will 
according  to  their  measure,  as  the  angels  do  it  in  heaven.  One  day  the  glorious  vision 
foreseen  by  the  beloved  disciple  shall  be  realized.  "The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ,  and  He  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever."  (Rev.  xi.  15.)  Those  who  in  Christ's  name  and  for  His  sake  are  working  for 
the  ennobling  and  the  purifying  of  humanity  are  "  labourers  together  with  God,"  and 
the  victory  they  fight  for  is  sure. 

"  There  is  no  hopeless  sorrow  ; 
Wrong  ever  builds  a  tottering  throne, 
And  Christ  shall  reign  to-morrow." 


THE   MISSES   LElTCll   AND   A   GROUP   UF   NATIVE   CHKISITANS. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Farewell  Address  from  thk  Native  Christians. 


EAR  MISSIONARY  FRIENDS,— We  are  ass-embled  here  to  trespass  a 
little  on  your  valuable  time  on  the  eve  of  your  departure- home,  and  desire 
to  be  allowed  to  give  expression  to  the  sentiments  of  respect  and  esteem  we 
entertain  for  you. 

Your  connection  for  the  past  seven  years  with  the  American  Ceylon  Mission,  and 
consequently  with  the  Christians  and  other  residents  of  Manepy  and  Panditerippu  whom 
9 


1 1 4  Farewell. 

we  represent,  we  are  happy  to  say,  has   been  altogether  pleasant  and  successful  in  a 
missionary  point  of  view. 

You  have  always  evinced  a  deep  interest  both  in  our  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare, 
and  the  occasions  in  which  your  guidance  and  advice  and  prompt  help  have  benefited 
us  have  been  many.  The  progress  our  young  men  and  women  especially  have  made 
through  your  efforts  in  several  departments  of  social  Christian  life  is  prized  by  us 
hi^^hly.  The  catholic  spirit  with  which  you  went  through  your  work,  and  the  tolera- 
tion of  views  that  we  noticed  in  you  in  all  your  dealings  with  uS;,  have  been  two  pro- 
minent points  of  admiration  to  us.  Your  presence  in  the  schools  wiiere  our  youths 
are  taught,  in  our  church  meetings,  improvement  societies,  youths'  associations,  &c., 
have  inspired  always  a  new  life  into  them.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that 
you  have  made  the  Christmas-tree  a  regular  institution  with  the  Sunday-school 
children.  Christian  and  heathen,  for  whose  efficient  training  in  Bible  knowledge  we  are 
much  indebted  to  you. 

Your  efforts  to  spread  a  taste  for  Christian  music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental,  in 
our  district,  and  your  work  in  connection  with  the  temperance  movement,  and  the 
Endowment  Fund  of  the  Oodooville  Girls'  Boarding-school,  will  by  themselves  repay 
all  the  sacrifice  you  made  in  leaving  your  home  on  a  missionary  enterprise.  But  it  is 
unnecessary  here  to  mention  the  numerous  ways  through  which  your  missionary  spirit 
and  social  kindness  have  shone  in  our  midst,  and  above  all  the  meekness  and 
patience  with  which  you  hive  reflected  the  life  and  doings  of  the  Great  Master.  All 
these,  dear  friends,  we  assure  you  will  ever  be  remembered  by  us  with  heart-felt 
gratitude  and  thankfulness. 

Although  your  short  absence  from  our  midst  will  be  felt  by  us,  we  hope  your  trip 
home  ("  Home,  Sweet  Home  ")  will  eventually  prove  beneficial  to  Christian  work  here, 
when,  in  the  providence  of  God,  you  may  return  with  redoubled  energy  and  health. 

We  would  take  this  opportunity  to  tendei  our  compliments  to  your  dear  brother, 
Mr.  G.  W.  Leitch,  who  had,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  to  cut  short  his  work  amongst  us.  At 
the  same  time  we  would  send  through  you  our  hearty  thanks  to  the  Christian  churches 
in  America,  which  have  contributed  their  mites  towards  Christianizing  this  land,  and 
ask  of  them  still  to  continue  in  their  wrestlings  for  us  before  the  throne  of  Grace,  as 
the  work  already  accomplished  in  Jaffna  will  not  bear  comparison  with  the  mountains, 
of  Satan's  raising,  that  are  yet  to  be  removed. 

We  also  beg  you  to  accept  the  accompanying  presents  of  two  Tamil  Bibles,  as  tokens 
of  remembrance  from  us.  We  will  not  take  up  more  of  your  time  row,  but  wish  you 
a  safe  voyage  forth  and  back,  and  a  hearty  good-bye. 


115 


FAREWELL  LYRIC  No.   i. 
{^Translation fiom  the  Tamil.) 

1.  O  gentle  ladies,  who  have  come  from  a  distant 

land  ; 
Who    have    left    relatives  and  friends  for  our 

sake; 
Who  have  come  over  in  ships  and  boats  ; 
Who  have  shown  us  the  path  to  the  distant 

world  ; 
How  shall  we  bear  it  if  you  leave  us  ?     How 

shall  we  bear  it ' 

2.  O  pious  and  chaste  ladies  ;  O  pure  treasures  ; 
Who  have  opened  schools  in  different  places  ; 
Who  have  taught  sinners  the  way  of  redemp- 
tion ; 

How  shall  we  bear  it  if  you  leave  us?     How 
shall  we  bear  it  ? 

We  have  prospered  by  the  good  done  by  you? 
It  is  difficult  to  reward  you ; 
We  bless  you,  O  dear  jewels  ; 
We  have  been  brought  to  life  ; 
We  w  ill  not  forget  you ; 
We  have  come  to  thank  you  heartily  ; 
How  shall  we   bear   it  when   you    leave  us? 
How  shall  we  bear  it? 


FAREWELL  LYRIC  No.  2. 
(  Translation  from  the  Tamil. ) 

I.    O  ladies,  good  mothers, 
Good-bye  to  you. 
We  prostrate  ourselves  at  your  golden  feet. 
Good-bye  to  you. 

2    Your  love  did  bind  us  like  a  cord. 
We  cannot  bear  separation. 
The  moment  for  which  has  come. 
Good-bye  to  you. 

3.  You  dealt  with  us  like  parents  ; 
You  forgave  us  our  faults  ; 
You  fed  us  with  knowledge  ; 
We  bid  you  good-bye  lovingly ; 

Good-bye  to  you. 

4.  Our  spirit  trembles,  we  faint: 
We  have  lost  our  comfort  ; 

Yet  it  seems  necessary  that  you  should  go. 
We  bid  you  good-bye  lovingly  ; 
Good-bye  to  you. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

Eliza  Agnew,  or  one  Woman's  Work  in 
THE  Foreign  Field. 


o 


THE    TRAVELLERS    PALM. 


jNE  day  the  teacher  in  a  day-school  in 
New  York  City,  while  giving  a  lesson  in 
geography,  pointed  out  to  her  pupils  the  heathen 
and  the  Christian  lands,  and  she  must  have 
spoken  some  very  earnest  words  to  them,  for  then  and  there  a  little  girl,  eight  years  of 
age,  named  Eliza  Agnew,  resolved  that,  if  it  were  God's  will,  she  would  be  a  missior.iary 
when  she  grew  up,  and  help  to  tell  the  heathen  about  Jesus.  She  never  forgot  this 
resolve.  Until  she  was  thirty  years  of  age  she  was  detained  at  home,  because  there 
were  near  relations  who  needed  her  care.  But  when  she  had  reached  that  age,  and 
her  dear  ones  had  been  called  away  from  earth  to  heaven,  she  was  free  to  leave  her 
home,  and  she  went  as  a  missionary  to  Ceylon. 

Some  years  before  this,  when  the  first  missionaries  reached  North  Ceylon,  they 
could  not  find,  among  the  more  than  300,000  people  there,  a  single  native  woman  or 
girl  who  could  read.  There  were  a  few  men  and  boys  who  could  read,  but  the  people 
did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  teach  the  girls.  They  said,  "  What  are  girls  good  for, 
excepting  to  cook  food?  "  &c.  "  Besides,"  they  said,  "girls  could  not  learn  to  read 
any  more  than  sheep."  The  missionaries  said  to  them,  "  You  are  mistaken.  Girls 
can  learn  to  read  as  well  as  boys."  So  they  opened  mission  day-schools  not  only  for 
boys,  but  for  girls  also. 


Beginninf^  of  the  BoardingscJiool. 


117 


Though  the  parents  willingly  allowed  their  sons  to  attend  these  schools,  they  were 
very  unwilling  to  let  their  daughters  remain  long  enough  to  receive  an  education,  as  it 
was  common  for  parents  to  give  their  daughters  in  marriage  when  they  were  only 
ten  or  twelve  years  of  age.  Seeing  this,  one  of  the  missionary  ladies  wished  to 
commence  a  boarding-school  for  girls.  Slie  wished  to  have  the  native  girls  separated 
from  the  influences  of  their  heathen  homes,  and  brought  under  daily  Christian 
influence.     But  none  of  the  people  would  send  their  daughters  to  her. 

One  day  there  were  two  little  girls  playing  in  the  flower-garder.  in  front  of  the 
missionary's  house  at  Oodooville.  Ceylon  is  in  the  tropics,  only  nine  degrees  north 
of  the  equator.  In  North  Ceylon  there  are  two  seasons,  the  "  7C'ef  "  and  the  "  dry" 
The  dry  season  lasts  nine  months,  and  during  that  time  there  is  scarcely  any  rain  ; 
but  in  the  wet  season,  November,  December,  and  January,  it  rains  nearly  every  day, 
and  sometimes  the  rain  falls  in  torrents — between  nine  and  ten  inches  have  been 
known  to  fall  in  twenty-four  hours.     While   these  two  little  girls  were  playing,  there 


TAMIL    GIKLS    IN    A  BOARDl.NG-SCHOOL. 


1 1 8  Forty-three  Years  without  a  Holiday. 

came  on  a  heavy  shower  of  rain,  and  as  they  had  not  time  to  go  home,  they  ran  for 
shelter  into  the  missionary's  house.  It  continued  to  rain  all  that  afternoon  and 
evening,  and  the  little  girls  became  very  hungry  and  began  to  cry.  The  missionary 
lady  gave  them  bread  and  bananas.  The  younger  girl  ate,  but  the  older  girl  refused  to 
eat.  After  a  time,  when  the  rain  ceased  a  little,  the  parents  went  to  look  for  their 
daughters.  They  had  supposed  they  would  be  in  some  neighbour's  house,  but  found 
them  in  that  of  the  missionary.  When  they  heard  that  the  younger  one  had  eaten, 
they  were  very  angry,  for  they  said,  "She  has  lost  caste."  They  found  fault  with  the 
missionary  lady,  and  the  mother  said,  "  You  have  given  my  child  food,  and  it  has 
broken  caste  and  is  polluted,  and  now  we  shall  not  be  able  to  arrange  a  marriage  for 
it.     What  shall  we  do?     You  may  take  the  child  and  bring  it  up." 

The  missionary  lady  had  been  wishing  for  native  girls  to  come  to  her,  whom  she 
might  educate  in  a  boarding-school,  and  here  was  a  mother  actually  saying  she  might 
take  her  daughter,  so  the  missionary  lady  thought  that  perhaps  this  was  the  Lord's 
way  of  enabling  her  to  start  the  boarding-school.  She  took  the  little  girl,  fed  and 
clothed  her,  and  began  teaching  her  the  247  letters  of  the  Tamil  alphabet.  She 
sprinkled  a  little  sand  on  the  floor  of  the  veranda,  and  taught  the  child  to  write  the 
letters  in  the  sand.  By-and-by,  some  of  the  playmates  of  this  little  girl  came  to  see 
her,  and  when  they  saw  her  writing  the  letters  in  the  sand,  they  thought  that  this  was 
some  kind  of  new  play,  and  they  also  wanted  to  learn.  The  Tamil  children  have 
good  memories,  and  in  a  very  short  time  they  committed  to  memory  the  247  letters 
of  the  alphabet,  and  were  able  to  read.  Their  parents  seeing  this,  and  that  the  little 
girl  was  well  cared  for  and  happy,  soon  began  to  entrust  more  of  their  daughters  to 
the  care  of  the  missionary  lady.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Oodooville  Girls' 
Boarding-school,  which  was,  perhaps,  the  first  boarding-school  for  girls  in  a  heathen 
land,  having  been  commenced  in  1824. 

After  Miss  Agnew  went  to  Ceylon,  she  became  the  head  of  this  boarding-school. 
She  remained  in  Ceylon  for  forty-three  years  without  once  going  home  for  a  rest  or  a 
change.  "\\'hen  friends  would  ask  her,  "  Are  you  not  going  to  x'Vmerica  for  a  vacation  ?  " 
she  would  always  re[)ly,  "  No  ;  I  have  no  time  to  do  so.  I  am  too  busy."  Through 
all  those  forty-three  unbroken  years,  during  which  God  granted  to  her  remarkable 
health,  she  was  too  busy  even  to  think  of  going  home. 

In  the  Oodooville  Girls'  lioaiding-school  she  taught  the  children,  and  even  some  of 
the  grandchildren,  of  her  first  i)upils.  More  than  1000  girls  have  studied  under  her. 
She  was  much  loved  by  the  girls,  who  each  regarded  her  as  a  mother,  and  she  was 
poetically  called  by  the  people,  "The  mother  of  a  thousand  daughters."  During  tlie 
years  she  taught  in  the  school  more  than  600  girls  went  out  from  it  as  Christians.     We 


believe  that  no  girl 
having  taken  its  whole 
course  has  ever  gradu- 
ated as  a  heathen .  Most 
of  these  girls  came  from 
heathen  homes  and 
heathen  villages,  but  in 
this  school  they  learned 
of  Christ  and  of  His 
great  love,  and  surren- 
dered their  young  hearts 
to  Him. 

Miss  Agnew  lived 
with  us  in  our  home  the 
last  two  years  of  her  life, 
when  she  had  grown 
feeble  and  was  no  longer 
able  to  retain  the  charge 
of  the  boarding-school. 
We  felt  her  presence  in  our  home  to  be  a  daily  blessing. 

Near  the  close  of  her  brief  illness,  and  when  we  knew  that  she  had  not  many  hours 
to  live,  one  of  the  missionaries  present  asked  her  if  he  should  offer  prayer.  She 
eagerly  assented.  He  asked,  "  Is  there  anything  for  which  you  would  like  me  specially 
to  pray  ?  "  She  replied,  "  Pray  for  the  ivomen  of  Jaffna,  that  they  may  come  to  Christ^ 
She  had  no  thought  about  herself.  All  through  her  missionary  life  she  had  thought 
very  little  about  herself.  Her  thought  was  for  the  women  of  Jaffna,  that  they 
might  know  Christ;  that  they  might  know  that  in  Him  they  had  an  Almighty 
Saviour,  a  great  burden-bearer,  a  friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother,  one  w  ho  had 
borne   their  griefs  and   carried  their  sorrows  and  could  give  their  troubled,  hungry, 


THREE   GENERATIONS. 


1 20  TJie  Passing  of  Miss  Agiiew. 

sorrowing  hearts  His  oicm peace.  At  the  very  time  when  she  was  asking  prayers  for  the 
women  of  Jaffna,  every  room  in  our  house  was  filled  with  native  Christian  women 
who,  when  girls,  had  been  her  pupils,  and  they  were  praying  for  her — that  if  it  were  the 
Lord's  will  to  take  her  then  to  Himself,  He  would  save  her  from  suffering  and  pain. 
God  heard  their  prayer,  and  she  passed  away  like  one  going  into  a  sweet  sleep.  The 
attendance  at  the  funeral  service  was  very  large.  Many  native  pastors,  catechists, 
teachers,  lawyers.  Government  officials  and  others,  the  leading  men  of  Jaffna  Peninsula, 
who  had  married  girls  trained  in  the  Oodooville  Girls'  Boarding-school,  came  to  the 
funeral  service,  bringing  their  wives  and  children.  As  we  looked  over  that  large 
audience  and  saw  everywhere  faces  full  of  love  and  eyes  full  of  tears,  and  knew  that  to 
hundreds  of  homes  she  had  brought  the  light  and  hope  and  joy  of  the  Gospel,  we 
could  not  help  thinking  how  precious  a  life  consecrated  to  Clirist  7nay  be. 

In  hundreds  of  villages  in  Ceylon  and  India  there  is  just  such  a  work  waiting 
to  be  done  by  Christian  young  women  as  that  which,  with  God's  blessing.  Miss 
Agnew  accomplished  in  the  Jaffna  Peninsula.  Heathen  lands  are  open  to-day  as 
they  have  never  been  open  before.  The  women  of  heathen  lands  need  the  Gospel. 
The  stronghold  of  heathenism  is  in  the  homes.  Many  of  the  men  in  India  have  to 
some  extent  lost  faith  in  their  old  superstitious  creeds,  but  the  women,  who  are  secluded 
in  the  homes,  cling  to  the  heathen  worship.  What  else  can  they  do?  They  must 
cling  to  something,  and  the  majority  of  them  have  not  heard  of  Christ.  They  are  teach- 
ing the  children  to  perform  the  heathen  ceremonies,  to  sing  the  songs  in  praise  of  the 
heathen  gods,  and  thus  they  are  moulding  the  habits  of  thought  of  the  coming 
generation.  Some  one  has  truly  said,  ''  If  we  are  to  win  India  for  Christ,  we  must  lay 
our  hands  on  the  hands  that  rock  the  cradles,  and  teach  Christian  songs  to  the  lips 
that  sing  the  lullabies,  and  if  we  can  win  the  motJiers  of  India  to  Christ,  \\q.x  future  Jons 
will  soon  be  brought  to  fall  at  the  feet  of  their  Redeemer." 

There  are  in  India  120  millions  of  women  and  girls.  How  many  lady  missionaries 
are  there  working  among  these  ?  In  the  report  of  the  last  Decennial  Conference,  the 
number  is  given  as  480,  counting  those  of  all  Protestant  missionary  societies.  Might 
not  more  be  sent  to  that  great  work  ?  We  are  told  that  there  are  a  million  more 
women  than  men  in  Great  Britain.  Could  not  many  of  these  be  spared  from  their 
homes,  and  could  not  some  possessed  of  private  means  go  on  a  self-sui)porting 
mission  to  this  great  field? 

'J'hink  of  the  21  millions  of  widows  in  India.  What  a  terrible  lot  is  theirs  !  They 
are  regarded  as  under  a  curse.  They  are  doomed  to  innumerable  hardships.  It  is 
deemed  meritorious  to  heap  abuse  upon  them.  It  is  thought  the  gods  are  angry  with 
them,  and  that  the  death  of  their  husbands  is  a  punishment  on  them  for  some  sin 


JVor/,;  for  I  Vonie?i. 


121 


committed  either  in  this  or  in  some  previous  hfe. 
Their  lot  is  so  hard  to  bear  that  again  and  again 
they  have  said  to  the  missionaries,  "  Why  did  the 
EngHsh  Government  take  from  us  the  right  to  be 
burnt  on  the  funeral  pyre  with  our  dead  husbands  ? 
for  that  were  better  than  what  we  have  to  endure." 
But  Christian  women  could  give  to  these  widows 
of  India  the  Gospel  with  its  message  of  hope,  and 
before  the  brightness  of  its  shining  the  darkness  of 
their  despair  would  flee  away.  The  knowledge  of 
the  love  of  Christ  would  help  them  to  bear  their 
otherwise  intolerable  burdens.  Let  us  remember 
that  Christ  has  told  us  that  whatsoever  service  we 
render  to  the  least  of  His  little  ones.  He  will 
regard  it  as  done  to  Him,  and  that  whatever  we 
leave  undone  of  that  which  w^as  in  our  power  to 
do,  He  will  regard  the  neglect  and  slight  as  shown 
to  Him.  Are  there  not  many  in  darkness  to-day 
who  might  have  had  the  Gospel  had  Christians  done 
what  they  could  for  them  ? 

Failure  to  realize  responsibility  does  not  diminish 
it.  Zenanas  which  forty  years  ago  were  locked 
and   barred  are   to-day  open.     Especially  is   this 

the  case  in  towns  where  there  are  Christian  colleges.  Wherever  the  Hindu  men  have 
been  educated  in  these  mission  colleges,  they  are  now  w-illing  and  even  desirous  that 
their  wives,  daughters,  and  sisters  should  be  taught.  We  have  been  told  by  Hindu 
gentlemen,  that  there  are  many  educated  men  in  India  to-day  who  are  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  would  confess  Christ,  were  it  not  that  a  wife  or  mother, 
who  has  never  been  instructed  about  Christ,  would  bitterly  oppose  their  doing  so. 

Shall  not  Christian  women,  who  owe  so  much  to  Christ,  be  foremost  in  doing  the 
work  allotted  to  them  ?  What  a  consummate  blunder  to  live  selfishly  in  this  generation  ! 
Are  we  giving  the  best  we  have  to  Christ  and  to  His  cause?  Christ  says,  "Whosoever 
he  be  of  you  that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  My  disciple."  Did 
Christ  only  mean  that  for  those  who  lived  hundreds  of  years  ago,  or  does  He  mean 
those  words  for  us  to-day  ?  In  the  presence  of  a  thousand  million  heathens  and 
Mohammedans  needing  the  Gospel,  with  multitudes  in  heathen  lands  losing  faith  in 
their  old  beliefs  and  asking  for  the  new,  does  He  not  mean   those  words   to-day  ? 


MOTHER   AND   BABES. 


122  Grander  than  the  Hallelujah  CJionis. 

Does  He  not  ask  that  our  time,  our  money,  our  influence,  our  friendships,  and  our 
entire  possessions  should  be  laid  at  His  feet,  consecrated  to  His  service,  placed 
absolutely  at  His  disposal  ?  Opportunities  such  as  we  have  to-day,  if  neglected,  may 
not  come  again. 

It  is  said  that  when  the  decisive  hour  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo  came,  the  English 
troops  were  lying  in  the  trenches,  waiting  for  the  onslaught  of  the  enemy.  They  had 
been  ordered  not  to  fire  until  the  French  were  close  upon  them,  and  while  they  lay 
there  in  silence,  Wellington  rode  up  and  down  the  lines  saying  over  and  over  again, 
"  What  will  England  say  to  you  if  you  falter  now  ?  "  One  old  officer  declared  that 
he  said  it  a  thousand  times,  but  it  is  no  matter  liow  many  times  he  said  it,  it  was 
burned  into  those  waiting  troops  till  they  felt  as  if  they  were  lying  under  the  very  walls 
of  Parliament,  and  when  the  command  was  given,  "  Now  up.  and  at  them,"  every  man 
felt  that  the  honour  of  England  was  in  his  hands,  and  he  was  invincible. 

Do  we  not  hear  the  voice  of  a  greater  Leader  saying,  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life"?  What  will  the  result  be  if  we  falter  now,  if 
Christians  are  worldly  now,  if  they  are  Christians  only  in  name  but  not  in  deed,  if  they 
only  say  "  Lord,  Lord,"  but  do  not  the  things  which  Christ  says  ?  What  will  Christ 
think  of  us  if  we  are  not  brave  and  true  now? 

Let  us,  at  Christ's  command,  be  ready  to  go  forward,  for  the  battle  is  not  ours,  but 
Christ's.  Surely  we  will  do  well  to  place  ourselves  on  His  side,  for  we  know  that  in  the 
end  His  cause  shall  prevail.  We  know  that  all  darkness  and  every  evil  thing  shall  be 
swept  away,  and  that  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdoms  of  our 
Lord  and  of  His  Christ.  Lord  Northbrook  recently,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  referred  to  his  feelings  at  hearing  Handel's  "  Hallelujah  Chorus  " 
sung.  He  said  it  was  not  so  much  the  music  as  the  words  and  thoughts  that  thrilled 
him.  The  greatest  of  all  musical  creations  was  inspired  by  the  faith  that  from  sea  to 
sea,  and  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  His  dominion  shall  extend,  and  that  from  every 
part  of  this  earth  shall  yet  arise  the  choral  shout,  "  Hallelujah,  for  the  Lord  God 
Omnipotent  reigneth."  That  is  the  grander  chorus,  of  which  Handel's  Hallelujah  is 
but  the  faint  and  distant  anticipation.  It  will  combine  the  voices  of  all  loyal,  loving 
saints  of  all  ages,  nor  is  there  in  all  the  world,  in  the  obscurest  hovel  of  poverty,  one 
humble  soul  that  prays  "  Thy  Kingdom  come,"  that  lays  consecrated  offerings  on  the 
altar  of  missions,  who  shall  not  join  that  final  anthem  as  one  who  has  helped  forward 
the  great  consummation. 


CHAPTER  XXTX. 

TOPSY    AND    THE    FaKIR    WoMAN. 

OPSY  was  the  name  given  playfully  by  a 
missionary  lady  in  Midnapore,  India,  to 
a  little  girl  in  her  orphanage  (whose  real 
name  was  Sudean),  because,  like  the 
Topsy  in  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  she  seemed  as  full 
of  mischief  as  an  egg  is  full  of  meat.  Her  ingenious 
pranks  and  practical  jokes,  perpetrated  with  a  face  of 
intense  gravity,  caused  her  school  mates  and  teachers 
much  annoyance,  and  drove  the  missionary  lady 
almost  to  her  wits' 


end,  because  she 
feared  that  her 
example  might 
prove  contagious 
among  the  others. 
Yet  the  lady  could 
not  dismiss  her, 
for  the  child,  like 
most  others  in  the 
school,  was  a 
famine  orphan, 
without  father  or 
mother  or  a  home 
of  her  own,  saved 
from  starvation  by 
the  kindness  of 
the  missionaries. 


124  ^  Learned  Fakir  Woman.  ^ 

One  Sabbath,  when  the  missionary  was  preaching  about  Christ's  death  on  the  cross 
for  us,  he  noticed  Topsy,  usually  so  restless,  sitting  strangely  quiet,  and  two  great 
tears  gathering  in  her  large  lustrous  eyes,  which  were  fixed  upon  him.  That  night 
Topsy  gave  her  heart  to  the  Saviour  who  had  so  loved  her  as  to  lay  down  His  life  for 
her.  The  Good  Shepherd  had  sought  and  found  another  of  His  restless  straying 
lambs.  The  missionary  and  his  wife  rejoiced  that  night  that  their  labours  had  not  been 
in  vain.  From  being  their  greatest  cause  of  anxiety,  Topsy  became  little  by  little  a  real 
comfort  and  blessing  to  the  orphanage.  Ail  her  restless  energy  seemed  now  turned 
into  channels  of  service.  She  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  go  out  every  day 
after  school  hours  with  an  aged  Bible-woman,  to  help  her  to  teach  the  Bible  lessons 
and  Christian  hymns  to  the  Zenana  women  whom  she  visited. 

One  day  as  they  were  going  through  the  streets,  the  little  girl  walking  a  step  or  two 
behind  the  Bible-woman,  as  is  often  the  custom  in  India,  Topsy  espied  a  very  strange- 
looking  object  seated  by  the  roadside  on  a  tiger  skin.  It  was  a  fakir  woman.  She 
was  dressed  in  a  very  odd  yellow  dress,  her  hair  all  matted  as  if  it  had  never  been 
combed,  her  face  and  arms  rubbed  with  sacred  ashes,  her  neck  loaded  with  numerous 
necklaces  of  a  kind  of  sacred  nut  which  fakirs  wear,  and  those  who  passed  by  stopped 
to  worship  her  as  a  goddess,  giving  her  money,  and  rubbing  the  dust  from  her  feet 
and  placing  it  as  something  sacred  upon  their  foreheads.  Topsy  sat  down  beside  her 
and  asked  her  if  she  had  ever  heard  about  Christ.  The  fakir  woman  said  she  had 
not,  so  Topsy  began  to  tell  her  the  story,  but  before  she  had  finished,  the  Bible-woman, 
who  had  gone  on  for  some  distance  without  missing  Topsy,  came  back  to  look  for 
her  in  some  alarm,  and  when  she  found  her,  blamed  her  for  stopping  behind.  Topsy 
in  great  distress  said  to  the  fakir  woman,  "  1  can't  stop  to  tell  you  the  rest  now,  but 
if  you  will  come  to  the  house  where  the  missionary  lives,  this  evening,  he  will  be  at 
home  then,  and  he  will  tell  you  all  about  it  much  better  than  I  can.  Be  sure  to  come. 
I  will  tell  him  to  expect  you."  When  the  Bible-woman  and  Topsy  returned  from  their 
daily  rounds,  Topsy  told  the  missionary  about  the  strange  woman  who  was  coming  to 
see  him  ;  and  though  he  hardly  expected  her,  sure  enough  she  came,  drawn  by  the 
magic  earnestness  of  the  little  girl.  Was  it  not  God's  answer  to  the  child  who  prayed 
and  now  watched  for  her  appearance  ? 

The  missionary  received  her  kindly,  and  when  she  was  seated  told  her  about  Christ 
and  what  He  had  done  for  us.  The  fakir  woman  had  never  heard  this  before.  He 
discovered  that  she  was  a  Brahminee  named  Chandra  Lilavati,  and  possessed  a 
remarkable  education,  being  able  to  read  in  four  different  languages,  viz.  Ncpalese,  Origa, 
Bengalee,  and  Hindi,  and  familiar  with  many  of  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hindus. 
Her  husband,  who  had  been  a  noted  man,  a  learned  Brahmin  Pundit,  had  instructed  her 


Seeking  to  Undo.  125 

and  since  his  death  she  had  wandered  during  many  years  all  over  India  on  pilgrimages, 
visiting  numerous  shrines  and  temples,  and  everywhere,  on  account  of  her  learning  and 
piety,  she  was  worshipped  as  a  goddess.  The  missionary  gave  her  a  gospel  in  the 
language  most  familiar  to  her,  and  she  went  away,  only  to  return  again  and  again,  to 
learn  more  and  more,  until  she  was  led  to  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God  and  to 
accept  Him  as  her  Saviour.  On  the  day  when  she  publicly  professed  her  faith  and 
was  baptized,  throngs  of  people  came  to  witness  the  ceremony,  and  to  see  her  whom 
they  had  formerly  worshipped  as  a  goddess  renounce  all  her  worldly  honours  and 
privileges,  and  give  up  her  lucrative  profession  to  become  a  humble  follower  of  Jesus. 

After  this  she  begged  to  be  allowed  to  come  daily  while  the  missionary  was  instruct- 
ing his  class  of  young  Theological  Students,  and  to  listen  to  his  words.  This  was 
granted  to  her,  and  day  by  day  she  was  found  sitting  at  the  missionary's  feet  with  her 
large-print  Bible  open  on  her  lap,  studying  the  sacred  pages  as  he  tried  to  expound 
the  precious  truths  contained  in  them.  It  was  an  inspiration  to  the  missionary  to 
look  at  her  eager,  upturned  face.  Among  all  his  students  there  was  not  one  who 
followed  him  more  closely,  or  who  searched  the  Scriptures  more  earnestly  than  she,  to 
see  whether  these  things  were  so. 

When  the  students  were  ready  to  enter  upon  their  work,  he  said  to  the  woman,  "  If 
you  would  like  to  become  a  Bible-woman,  I  would  provide  you  with  a  house  and  give 
you  a  salary  sufficient  to  meet  your  living  expenses  ;  "  but  she  answered,  "  No,  no,  I  must 
go  back,  and  ///  every  city  tvJiere  I  have  told  the  wrong  story,  I  must  tell  the  right  onei" 
And  she  who  had  so  long  been  an  object  of  worship  and  received  every  honour  and 
attention,  lifted  up  and  placed  on  her  head  the  heavy  basket  of  Bibles  and  tracts 
and  religious  books  with  which  she  had  begged  the  missionary  to  supply  her,  and 
started  on  foot,  though  an  old  woman  with  white  hair,  to  revisit  the  cities  she  had 
previously  visited,  and  put  right  what  in  ignorance  she  had  put  wrong. 

The  missionary  heard  of  her  from  time  to  time  in  Calcutta,  Burdwan,  Monghir, 
Lucknow,  Cawnpore,  Delhi,  and  other  cities  in  India,  the  missionaries  in  these 
places  writing  that  she  had  visited  them  and  greatly  revived  and  stimulated  their  native 
Christian  people  by  her  presence  and  words,  causing  great  astonishment  among 
the  Hindus  who  had  formerly  known  and  worshipped  her  as  a  very  holy  and  learned 
fakir.  From  time  to  time  she  returned  to  the  missionary  at  Midnapore,  bringing 
back  at  the  end  of  each  journey  every  penny  of  the  value  of  the  books  which  she 
had  carried  away,  and,  asking  for  and  obtaining  a  new  supply,  she  again  and  again  set 
off  on  her  journeyings,  rejoicing  in  God  who  had  called  her  to  this  His  work,  and 
who  sustained  her  in  it  by  the  conscious  presence  of  His  Spirit  in  her  heart. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Dasammah,  the  Little  Heroine. 

I  SHOULD  like  to  tell  about  a  girl  who  studied  in  a  mission  school  in  India.  I 
will  call  her  Dasammah,  though  that  was  not  her  real  name.  When  she  came 
to  the  mission  school  she  was  about  twelve  years  of  age.  She  was  married,  but  her 
husband  allowed  her  to  attend  school.  She  was  a  very  modest  girl,  and  used  to 
take  her  seat  back  in  a  corner,  and  draw  her  cloth  closely  over  her  face,  so  that  she 
should  not  be  much  noticed.  When  questions  were  asked  of  her  she  seemed  to  be 
very  timid  about  answering,  but  the  missionary  lady  noticed  that  when  she  was  teaching 
the  Bible  lesson,  this  girl  seemed  always  to  lean  forward  and  to  be  drinking  in  every 
word.  One  day  when  Dasammah  went  home  she  told  her  husband  that  she  did  not 
believe  that  the  idols  which  they  worshipped  were  true  gods,  but  that  she  believed 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  true  Saviour.  When  her  husband  heard  this  he  was  much 
alarmed,  for  he  feared  hhe  would  become  a  Christian.  So  the  next  morning  he  said 
to  her,  "  Get  your  things  ready  quickly  ;  I'm  going  to  take  you  to  live  at  my  mother's 
house  ;  be  ready  to  leave  in  an  hour." 

If  you  who  read  these  lines  were  to  be  told  that  you  were  to  leave  your  home  and 
go  to  a  distant  village  to  live,  and  that  you  were  to  be  ready  to  start  in  an  hour,  what 
are  the  things  you  would  select  to  take  with  you  ?  This  girl  thought  of  her  Bible. 
But  she  must  not  be  seen  in  the  street  at  that  time  in  the  morning.  So  she  called  a 
litde  neighbour  girl  of  lower  caste,  and  said  to  her,  "  Run  quick'y  to  the  missionary's 
house  and  get  that  book  we  study  in  the  school — the  Bible."  And  the  little  girl  ran  to 
the  missionary's  house  and  got  a  Bible  and  brought  it  to  Dasammah,  and  she  hid  it  in 
her  cloth,  and  that  was  the  on'y  thing  she  took  with  her  when  she  went  to  a  distant 
village  to  live  with  her  husband's  mother.  She  was  the  only  Christian  in  that  village ; 
there  was  not  a  missionary  there,  or  a  native  pastor,  or  a  native  Christian.  But  day 
by  day  she  studied  her  Bible,  and  day  by  day  the  Christ  of  whom  it  told  became  more 
real  and  more  precious  to  her. 


"  I  aui  a  Christiany  1 27 

After  a  time  her  husband  died  suddenly,  and  then,  as  is  the  custom  in  India,  lier 
relatives  treated  her  very  cruelly,  and  charged  her  with  the  death  of  her  husband, 
saying  she  had  used  charms  or  something  which  had  caused  his  death.  The  girl  said 
that  she  had  done  nothing  to  cause  the  death  of  her  husband,  but  that  it  was  the 
will  of  God  that  he  should  die  at  that  time.  Then  they  said,  "  It  is  because  you  have 
given  up  worshipping  our  gods,  and  are  worshipping  the  Christian  God.  Now  you 
must  come  back  and  worship  our  gods,  and  promise  that  you  will  not  become  a 
Christian."  The  girl  said,  "  Oh,  how  can  I  promise  that  ?  I  do  believe  in  Christ.  I 
am  a  Christian."  They  spoke  with  her  many  times  on  the  subject^  but  she  could  only 
give  them  the  one  answer — "  I  a/ii  a  Christian." 

One  day  the  men  of  the  house  banished  all  the  women  to  the  women's  apartments, 
and  taking  this  little  girl  out  into  the  yard,  drove  four  stakes  into  the  ground,  and 
tied  the  girl's  hands  and  feet  to  these  stakes.  Then  they  said  to  her,  "  Now  we  will 
bring  fire  and  burn  your  feet,  unless  you  promise  that  you'll  not  become  a  Christian." 
And  the  girl  answered,  '^l  do  believe  in  Christ.  I  am  a  Christian.''  They  put  the 
fire  to  her  feet  and  let  it  burn  them,  and  the  pain  was  very  great.  Then  they  said  to 
her,  "  Now  will  you  promise  that  you'll  not  become  a  Christian  ?  "  The  girl  answered, 
"  Oh,  I  cannot  promise,  I  am,  /  am  a  Christian."  Surely  He  who  walked  with  the 
three  children  of  Israel  in  the  burning,  fiery  furnace,  was  with  this  poor  girl,  and 
strengthened  her  in  the  hour  of  her  great  trial.  After  a  time,  the  pain  was  so  great  she 
could  not  bear  it,  and  she  fainted  away.  When  the  men  saw  that,  they  were  afraid 
she  would  die,  and  that  the  English  Government  might  call  them  to  account  for  their 
conduct.  So  they  untied  her  hands  and  feet,  and  then  carried  her  away  into  a  dark 
room,  and  left  her  there.  In  the  middle  of  the  night  consciousness  returned  to  her, 
and  she  got  up  and  felt  for  the  door,  and  found  it  was  open.  She  went  out  and 
made  straight  for  the  missionary's  house.  It  took  her  that  night,  and  the  ne.xtday,  and 
late  into  the  next  night,  to  reach  it.  She  walked  part  of  the  way,  as  well  as  she  could, 
on  her  poor  sore  feet,  and  when  she  could  not  travel  tJius  any  farther,  she  got  down 
and  crawled  on  her  hands  and  knees.  When  she  came  to  the  missionary's  house,  she 
knocked.  The  missionary  lady  came  to  the  door  and  looked  at  the  girl,  but  did  not 
recognize  her,  she  was » so  covered  with  dust  and  looked  so  wretched.  She  said  to 
the  girl,  "Who  are  you?"  The  girl  told  her.  Then  she  asked,  "Why  did  you 
come  ?  "     The  girl  said,  "  /  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  J  want  to  be  baptized:' 

The  missionary  lady  took  her  in,  and  when  she  saw  what  a  condition  her  feet  were 
in,  she  was  very  sorry  for  her.  She  dressed  her  feet,  and  all  the  time  she  was  doing 
this  the  girl  never  uttered  a  single  murmur  or  complaint,  but  only  said,  "  Oh,  how 
good  you  are  !  how  you  must  love  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  so  kind  to  a  poor  girl  like  me  1" 


128 


She  Desired  to  tell  Others. 


After  a  time  her  feet  healed,  and  she  said  to  the  missionary  lady,  "You  have  a 
Bible-woman  who  visits  in  the  homes  and  teaches  the  women ;  I  should  so  like  to 
help  her  to  tell  the  women  about  Christ.  I  could  live  on  very  little,  all  I  should  want 
would  be  rice  and  salt  ;  two  shijlings  a  month  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  buy  my  food. 
If  you  could  find  some  one  who  would  pay  that  for  me,  I  would  spend  my  whole 
time  teaching  the  women  in  the  hornes."  The  missionary  lady  furnished  her  with  the 
needed  means,  and  she  is  now  a  Bible-woman,  and  very  happy  in  her  work.  This 
girl  had  only  known  about  Christ  a  short  time,  but  He  was  very  precious  to  her,  and 
she  desired  to  tell  others  about  Him, 

I  wonder  if  you  who  read  these  lines  love  Christ  as  much,  and  if  you  are  letting 
your  light  shine  as  brighdy.  If  Christ  were  to  stand  before  you  in  bodily  form,  and 
say  to  you  as  He  said  to  His  disciples,  ''As  My  Father  hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send  1 
you.y  how  would  you  feel  in  His  presence?  Would  you  be  able  to  look  into  His 
dear  face  and  say,  '^  Lord  Jesus,  J  do  desire  to  be  in  the  world  as  Thou  wast  in  the 
world.     Make  me  more  and  more  to  be  like  TheeT 


V;- 


!■  iiKiifi^fyi^'v^S\:'Sy^:::^^. 


.1  l.Ki      11  ALL,    1  U'  1  NA    Li.Ll.L(,K 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

The  Jaffna  College. 

HE  Jaffna  College,  situated  at  Batticotta  in  North  Ceylon,  is,  as  far  as  we 
know,  the  first  attempt  of  a  Christian  community  in  a  heathen  laud  to 
establish  a  college  of  their  oivn. 

It  originated  in  a  spontaneous  effort,  made  by  the  native  Christians  of 
faffna  in  1S67,  to  establish  a  Christian  College,  which  should  give  a  superior 
education  both  in  the  English  and  vernacular  languag.;s.  A  meeting  of  educated 
Tamils  was  called,  and  was  largely  attended.  At  this  meeting  a  scheme  was 
adopted,  and  a  committee  appointed  to  collect  funds  and  take  initiatory  steps 
toward  establishing  a  Christian  College.  Principally  through  the  efforts  of  this 
native  committee,  jQi'joo  were  raised  in  Ceylon — a  large  sum,  when  it  is  remembered 
that  in  Jaffna  the  wage  of  a  labouring  man  is  only  sixpence  a  day.  The  people  of 
America,  hearing  of  this  effort  on  the  part  of  the  native  Christians,  and  believing  those 
most  worthy  of  help  who  try  to  help  themselves,  contributed  ;i^6ooo,  and  the 
10 


I30 


Dr.  Hastins^s. 


American  Board  of  Missions  gave,   for  the  use   of  the    College,  land   and  buildings 
worth  ^5000. 

Early  in  1S72  the  College  was  started  under  the  general  management  and  control  of 
a  Board  of  Directors.  This  Board  of  Directors  is  at  present  composed  of  the  senior 
missiofiaries  of  the  three  Missions  working  in  Jaffna,  namely,  the  Church  of  England 
Mission,  the  IVesleyan  Mission,  and  the  American  Mission  ;  along  witli  the  Government 
Agent  of  the  Northern  Province,  and  representative  7iative  Christian  gentlemen  of  the 
commitnity. 

The  Jaffna  College,  it  will  be  noted,  is  not  a  denominational  institution.  It  is  not 
controlled  by  any  one  missionary  body,  though  it  has  the  sympathy  and  direction  of 
the  three  missionary  societies  which  are  at  work  in  Jaffna.  //  is  a  thoroughly  Christian 
institution.  The  Rev.  E.  P.  Hastings,  M.A.,  D.D.,  who  had  been  for  twenty-five  years 
a  missionary  of  the  American  Mission  in  Jaffna,  was  invited  to  preside  over  the  institu- 
tion as  its  first  Principal,  and  he  continued  to  fill  the  office  with  great  acceptance  for 
seventeen  years.  His  unwearied  devotion  tor  over  forty  years  to  the  people  of  Jaffna 
enabled  him  to  win  the  confidence 
and  affection  of  the  whole  com- 
munity. Having  resigned  his  posi- 
tion in  June,  1889,  the  Rev.  S.  VV. 
Howland,  M.A.,  for  sixteen  years  a 
missionary  of  the  American  Mission 
in  Jaffna,  was  chosen  as  his  suc- 
cessor. 

Besides  the  Principal,  tliere  are 
in  the  College  two  foreign  professors 
who  hold  the  degree  of  B.A.,  and 
five  able  native  professors,  all  oj 
ivhom  are  Christians.  There  has 
never  been  a  heathen  teacher  employed 
in  the  College,  and  it  is  hoped  there 
nevtr  will  be,  for  it  is  believed  that 
one  heathen  teacher  in  an  institu- 
tion like  this  could  undo  the  work 
of  many  Christian  teachers.  Tt  is 
desired  that  this  be  first  of  all  a 
Christian  College,  with  the  current 
all  one  way. 


KF.V      K.    p.    IlASTINfJS,    D.I)., 
For  nineteen  years  Priticijal  of  JiifTn.T  College. 


Cm'miL'9!!t':t;-jA-rSht'J!ri};-^., 


A  PROFESSOR   AND  STUDENTS   IN  JAFFNA   COLLEGE. 


There  are  at  present  167  students,  with  seven  teachers,  in  the  High  School,  a  pre- 
paratory school  for  the  College,  and  about  100  students  in  the  College  itself. 
It  is  a  rule  of  the  College  that  all  the  students  reside  on  the  premises.  T/iej  are 
thus  separated  from  /leathen  infiitence,  and  are  under  the  strongest  Christian  influence 
continuously,  r.'Jrai?iing  from  alt  heathen  practices,  even  from  wearing  the  idolatrous 
marks  on  their  foreheads.  Yet  so  great  is  the  desire  for  education  in  the  community, 
and  so  highly  is  the  education  prized  which  is  given,  that  many  Hindu  young  men  of 
high-caste  are  willing  to  enter  this  Christian  Colle<^c  as  boarders,  paying  the  full  cost 
of  board,  also  £^\  as  entrance  fee,  and  ^3  for  tuition  annuall)'.  These  high-caste 
Hindu  young  men  are  accustomed  to  eat,  sleep,  and  live  with  the  Christian  students,  to 
be  present  at  morning  and  evening  prayers,  to  study  the  Bible  daily,  to  attend  the 
weekly  prayer-moedngs,  also  Sabbath-school,  church  service,  and  Bible-class  on 
Sabbath. 

So  greatly  has  God  blessed  the  College  that,  of  the  326  70 ho  have  entered  its  doors, 
142  have  gone  out  into  the  world  as  professed  Christians  and  communicants  ;  others  have 
professed  Christ  after  leaving  the  College,  and  the  majority  of  tlie  nearly  1 00  students  at 


X32  ^  Preacher  s  Fay  and  Prospects 

present  in  the  College  are   Christians.     Alojiy  of  the  graduates  of  the  institution   have 
become  pastors,  catechists,  a?id  teachers,  not  only  in  missions  in  Ceylon,  but  also  in  India. 

It  has  been  said,  "  IVhatever  you  ivould  put  into  the  life  of  a  nation,  put  into  its 
schools.'^  The  teachings  of  Christ  are  given  the  first  place  in  the  College,  and  He  is 
held  up  as  the  one  perfect  model  for  imitation.  His  words,  "  I  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,"  and  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent 
Me,"  are  sounded  as  the  key-note  for  every  one  who  would  make  his  life  harmonize 
with  the  Divine  ideal. 

There  is  in  the  College  an  active  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  The  members 
of  this  association  not  only  labour  for  the  conversion  of  the  Hindu  students  in 
the  College,  but  also  do  much  valuable  work  outside.  On  Sabbath  afternoons  they 
regularly  go  out  and  conduct  six  Sabbath  schools  in  the  neighbouring  villages.  These 
Sabbath  schools  are  attended  by  nearly  400  children.  Not  content  with  this,  they 
have  originated  and  for  ihe  past  three  or  four  years  supported  a  school  in  an  island 
lying  near  Jaffna,  called  Ninathevu.  They  have  built  a  school-bungalow,  and  have 
paid  for  several  years  the  whole  salary  of  the  teacher.  It  may  be  interesting  to  know 
how  the  young  men  are  able  to  raise  the  money  for  his  support.  There  is  a  piece  of 
land  belonging  to  the  college  grounds  which  the  members  of  the  Y.M.C.A.  cultixate 
as  a  garden,  selling  the  produce  for  the  benefit  of  the  school ;  and  while  some  of  their 
companions  are  playing  cricket  or  other  games  in  the  recreation  hours,  they  are  hard 
at  work,  hoeing,  watering,  walking  the  well-sweep,  &c.,  «Scc. 

A  number  of  young  men,  graduates  of  the  College,  have  studied  theology  and 
entered  upon  evangelistic  work.  Were  they  to  engage  in  secular  employment  under 
the  Government,  they  might  expect  to  receive  a  salary  of  from  ^5  to  ^10  a  month, 
with  a  prospect  of  promotion,  but  they  have  voluntarily  chosen  the  work  of  preachers 
of  the  Gospel,  with  a  salary  of  £,\  \os.  to  begin  with,  and  a  prospect  of  not  more 
than  J[^2>  o""  -^4>  ^^  ^*^^  pastors  in  Jaffna  receive  more  than  ^4  a  month  as  salary. 
We  feel  that  they  have  made  this  choice  out  of  love  to  Christ,  and  a  desire  to  serve 
Him.  They  show  a  similar  spirit  to  that  shown  by  a  Burmese  boatman  who,  when 
converted,  was  earning  ^6  a  month.  Perceiving  that  he  was  a  ready  speaker  and  clever 
withal,  the  missionary  said  to  him  one  day  :  ''Can  you  give  up  your  business  and 
preach  to  your  countrymen?  I  may  be  able  to  give  you  half-a-pound  a  month  for 
this.  Can  you  do  it?"  The  man  thought  a  moment,  then  replied  with  a  beaming 
face  and  tears  in  his  eyes:  "No,  I  can't  do  it  for  the  half-pound  a  month,  but  I  can 
do  it  for  the  love  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  We  believe  it  is  the  same  spirit  which  is 
animating  many  of  the  Jaffna  College  graduates. 

About  five  years  ago  there  came  a  request  from  the  missionary  at  Indore,  Scindia, 


Mr.  Chanmukani. 


133 


India,  for  a  graduate  of  the  College  to  come  as  a  teacher  of  English  in  the  Mission 
High  School  there.  Mr.  Chanmukam,  a  graduate  who  had  been  converted  during  his 
College  course,  consented  to  go.  In  the  meantime  there  came  a  second  letter  from  the 
missionary,  saying  that  as  they  were  in  the  territory  of  a  native  prince  who  was 
unfavourable  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  they  met  with  much  opposition  in 
their  mission  work  :  that  they  were  not  allowed  to  buy  or  rent  a  house  in  the  city,  but 
had  to  live  and  teach  in  buildings  outside  of  the  city  ;  that  when  they  held  preaching 
services,  the  native  police  olten  broke  up  the  nieetings,  dispersing  the  people,  and 
even  taking  the  native  helpers  to  prison.  Mr.  Chanmukam  was  called,  and  the  letter 
was  read  to  him.  While  he  listened,  tears  began  slowly  to  gather  in  his  eyes.  At  its 
close  he  looked  up  with  a  radiant  and  determined  face  and  said  :  "  If  that  missionary 
can  leave  his  home  and  come  all  the  way  to  India  and  endure  all  that  for  the  sake  of 
Christ,  I  think  I  ought  to  go  and  help  him."  And  he  went  with  a  true  missionary 
spirit  to  a  country  1600  miles  distant  from  Jaffna,  among  a  people  who  speak  another 
language,  and  where  the  climate,  food,  dress,  religion,  all  are  different. 

The  missionary  wrote  as  follows  of  him  and  of  another  Jaffna  College  graduate  who 
has  more  recently  gone  to  the  same  place  : — 

Indore,  Central  India,  October  i,  1886. 
In  reply  to  your  letter,  I  most  gladly  bear  testimony 
in  regard  to  Mr.  Chanmukam  and  Mr.  Charles,  two 
Jaffna  graduates  at  Indore,  the  former  of  whom  I 
have  had  ample  opportunity  of  testing,  as  he  has  been 
with  me  now  for  about  two  years. 

Mr.  Chanmukam  is  very  well  up  in  English, 
Mathematics,  History,  Geography,  Grammar,  &c.,  as 
is  seen  from  the  fact  that  he  so  easily  at  the  last 
Entrance  Examination  of  the  Calcutta  University 
stood  first  in  English  and  Mathematics,  and  fourth  in 
all  the  subjects.  His  knowledge  of  the  first  two  is 
superior  to  that  of  many  of  the  B.A.'s  that  we  have 
about  us  here.  As  a  teacher,  he  has  been  most 
successful  both  in  winning  the  confidence  of  the  boys 
and  in  imparting  knowledge,  and  is  to-day  the  favourite 
teacher  in  the  school,  as  well  as  the  best.  So  much 
confidence  have  I  in  him,  that  as  soon  as  his  place 
liere  can  be  filled.  I  intend  to  send  him  to  Ujjain  to 
start  and  take  charge  of  a  new  High-School  which  I 


POR'l  KAU     C'l     MK.     Ci 


134 


Testimonials. 


hope  soon  to  start  there.  What  especially  has  pleased  me  has  "been  his  modesty 
earnest  consistent  Christian  life — an  example  that  alone  has  done  much  to  help  us 
here.  His  duties  do  not  allow  him  much  time  for  direct  Christian  work,  yet  where 
he  gets  opportunity  he  does  not  fail  to  use  it.  My  earnest  wish  is  for  more  such 
men,  and  my  warmest  thanks  are  due  to  the  Institution  which  trained  him,  to  you  for 
sending  him,  and  to  the  Grace  of  God  above  all,  which  has  in  him  so  manifestly 
shown  to  the  heathen  its  power. 

Though  of  Mr.  Charles  I  cannot  speak  so  fully,  as  he  has  been  a  shorter  time  with 
us,  yet  we  all  like  very  much  his  earnest,  faithful  efforts,  which  as  time  goes  on  will  be 
more  appreciated  I  doubt  not. 

With  thanks  for  your  kind  interest  in  our  work,  T  remain,  yours  sincerely, 

J.  WiLKlK,  Canadian  Mission. 

More  than  five  years  ago  a  call  came  from  a  missionary  at  Ahmednagar,  in  the 
Deccan,  India,  for  a  teacher  in  the  mission  college  there.  Mr.  Lee,  a  graduate  of 
the  Jaffna  College,  a  native  Christian  of  the  third  generation,  accepted  the  call.  The 
missionary  wrote  of  him  : — 

Ahmednagar,  Deccan,  India,  June  28,  1886. 
Two  years  ago  you  sent  a  young  man  to  help  us  here  — Mr.  G.  C.  Lee.  We  are 
more  than  satisfied  with  him  as  a  scholar,  teacher,  and  above  all  as  a  Cliristian.  I 
congratulate  you  on  turning  out  such  a  man.  He  is  more  than  I  hoped  for,  and  has 
become  by  far  the  best  man  I  have  or  have  had.  Had  I  some  more  like  him,  with  a 
good  knowledge  of  Marathi,  I  could  have  the  best  school  in  India.  As  it  is,  his  work 
could  not  be  better  done  by  any  one,  and  besides,  he  is  always  at  my  elbow  to  do 
anything  and  everything. 

With  best  wishes,  yours  very  truly, 

James  Smith,  American  Missionary, 

Principal,  Ahmednagar  College. 

After  this  young  man  had  been  in  Ahmednagar  for  some  time  on  a  salary  of  ^4  a 
month,  he  received  an  offer  of  ;^io  a  month  if  he  would  go  elsewhere,  but  he  said, 
"  No  ;  I  think  I  can  do  more  good  here,"  and  he  stayed.  He  teaches  large  classes  of 
high-caste  Hindu  young  men,  and  he  has  so  won  their  friendship  and  esteem  that 
students  of  his  classes  often  go  to  his  room  in  the  evening  for  conversation  on  religious 
sul)jects,  and  for  Bible-reading  and  prayer.  His  brotlier,  also  a  graduate  of  the  Jaffna 
College,  is  likewise  now  employed  in  the  .same  Institution. 

Numbers  of  Jaffna  young  men   are  employed   in  similar  capacities   and  with  much 


MR.    G.   C.    LEE   (in   THE   CENTRE)    AND    A    FEW   OF    HIS   STUDENTS. 


acceptance  in  Bombay,  Madras,  Ujjain,  Coinibatoon,  Rolia,  Madura  Passumallui, 
and  other  parts  ot"  India,  as  well  as  in  Rangoon  and  Singapore.  God  has  given  to  fnatiy 
of  the  graduates  a  missionary  spirit,  and  a  unlli7igiiess  to  leave  home  and  go  to  all  parts 
of  India  on  small  salaries,  to  engage  in  the  work  of  teaching  in  mission  schools.  In  this 
fact  seems  to  lie  an  indication  of  Providence  as  to  the  work  before  the  College  in  tlu 
future,  to  which  lue  should  take  heed,  and  in  which  we  should  rcfoice. 

It  is  now  proposed  to  make  the  Jaffna  College  a  First- Grade  College;  to  extend  its 
course  of  study  ;  to  add  to  its  staff  of  foreign  and  native  professors  ;  enlarging  and 
improving  its  building  accommodation,  reducing  tlie  general  expenses,  and  providing 
permanent  scholarships  in  aid  of  necessitous  students.  At  the  present  time  the  Jaffna 
College  enables  its  students  to  pass  the  Cambridge  Junior  and  Senior  Local  Examina- 


136  Government  Education  in  India. 

tions,  and  gives  a  select  course  of  study  beyond  that.  But  if  larger  and  larger 
numbers  of  the  graduates  of  the  Jaffna  College  are  to  find  places  as  teachers  in 
Mission  Schools  in  India,  this  College  must  be  affiliated  with  a  University,  for  the 
Educational  Department  of  the  Madras  Presidency  has  lately  passed  a  resolution  that 
only  those  who  have  matriculated  or  who  hold  degrees  will  be  eligible  to  receive 
salary  grants  from  Government.  As  it  is  by  these  grants  that  Indian  Mission  Colleges 
are  largely  supported,  Indian  missionaries  will  be  unable  to  employ  Jaffna  graduates 
hereafter,  to  any  large  extent,  unless  they  comply  with  this  Government  requirement. 
The  Mission  Colleges  in  India  are  doing  a  great  work  in  giving  a  Christian  education 
to  the  youths  of  India,  and  stemming  the  tide  of  infidelity  which  is  coming  in 
like  a  flood,  owing  to  the  fact  that  only  a  secular  education  is  given  in  Government 
Colleges. 

Major-General  F.  T.  Haig,  R.E.,  writes  as  follows  respecting  Government  education 
in  India  : — 

'^  There  is  a  great  thirst  for  education  throughout  India.  Education  is  spreading 
like  wildfire.  Hindoos  are  already  beginning  to  tax  themselves  for  education,  and 
that  will  be  the  most  popular  tax  in  the  country.  But  observe  what  is  being  done. 
The  Government  are  in  earnest  in  this  matter.  They  are  going  in  for  the  education 
of  these  250  millions.  But  it  will  be  a  godless  education.  There  is  not  even  the 
Bible  in  the  Indian  scliool  ;  it  is  utterly  put  aside,  and  the  education  given  is 
absolutely  secular.  AA'hat  is  to  be  the  result  ?  What  7vill  he  the  vast  social  and 
political  movetnent  that  will  take  place  amoiis;  250  millions  of  people,  whose  faith  in  their 
own  aficestral  religion  has  been  destroyed  by  their  education,  and  to  whom  7ue  have  given 
nothing  else  ?  A  statesman,  however  worldly,  might  be  appalled  at  the  prospect  of 
having  to  deal  with  such  a  people,  and  yet  that  is  what  we  have  got  before  us,  unless 
the  Christian  Church  will  do  its  duty,  and  impart  to  the  people  that  religious 
instruction  which  cannot  be  given  in  the  Government  schools. 

"  We  have  in  India  250  millions  of  people,  200  millions  of  whom  are  our  fellow- 
subjects;  for  they  are  really  and  truly  subjects  of  the  Queen.  The  remaining  50 
millions  are  the  subjects  of  the  feudatory  States,  in  each  of  which  we  have  a  resident 
without  whose  permission  nothing  can  be  done.  For  all  these  millions,  tuho  are 
practically  our  felloiv-suhjects,  we  are  doubly  responsible  before  God.  We  have 
subdued  the  country  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  and  we  are  responsible  before  God 
for  the  welfare  of  its  people.  We  cannot  put  this  thought  aside.  We  may  ignore  the 
remainder  of  the  heathen  world  if  we  will,  but  these  250  millions  of  India  we  cannot 
set  aside.  We  must  feel  that  we  are  responsible  before  God  for  them  and  for  their 
salvation.     What    is    the    spiritual  provision    that  we  as  a  Christian  people  are  now 


One  Minister  to  450,000  People  !  137 

making  for  the  people  of  India  ?     Let  us  just  for  one  moment  remember  the  provision 
that  we  make  for  our  own  spiritual  needs  at  home  :— 

"  In  England  we  have  20,000  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England  and  at  least  as 
many  more  ministers  of  the  different  Nonconformist  denominations.  Then  for  each 
one  of  these  clergymen  and  ministers  you  must  allow  several  additional  classes  of 
Christian  workers,  like  city  missionaries,  Sunday-school  teachers,  visitors,  Bible-women, 
and  every  conceivable  form  of  paid  and  unpaid  Christian  labourers.  Taking  simply 
the  clergymen  and  ministers  who  are  specially  ordained  for  this  work,  we  have  at 
least  40,000  in  this  little  island  ministering  to  the  religious  wants  of  26  millions  of 
people,  or  one  to  every  650  people. 

"  Now,  let  us  look  to  British  India.  What  have  we  got  there  ?  Six  hundred  and 
forty  ministers,  or  one  to  every  450,000  people.  Please  note  these  facts.  The  facts 
with  regard  to  the  heathen  world  at  large  are  very  few  and  simple,  but  of  enormous 
power.  We  send  to  India,  where  we  have  been  these  two  hundred  years,  only  640 
ministers  !     Is  there  not  something  monstrously  wrong  there?  " 

We  would  like  to  insert  also  an  extract  from  a  non-Christian  Hindu  paper,  the 
Indu  Prakash  of  Bombay  : — 

"  Education  provided  by  the  State  simply  destroys  Hinduism  ;  it  gives  nothing  in 
its  place.  It  is  founded  on  the  benevolent  principle  of  non-interference  with  religion, 
but  in  practice  it  is  the  negation  of  God  in  life.  Education  must  destroy  idolatry,  and 
the  State  education  of  India,  benevolent  in  its  idea,  practically  teaches  atheism.  It 
leaves  its  victims  faithless.  Our  young  men  are,  many  of  them,  forced  by  it  into  the 
unhappy  position  of  the  sceptics  and  infidels  of  Europe.  As  soon  as  this  is  generally 
perceived  and  felt,  the  cry  will  go  up  to  England,  '  Father,  Father,  give  us  faith  ! ' 
Knowledge  alone  does  not  suffice  men,  nor  material  prosperity,  nor  good  government ; 
the  things  of  this  life  are  fleeting,  the  life  to  come  is  eternal  ;  and  men  and  nations 
can  only  be  happy  in  recognizing  and  acting  righteously  on  this  Divine  fact.  Without 
faith,  life  is  without  an  aim,  death  without  hope,  and  there  can  be  neither  individual 
happiness  nor  national  greatness.  If  England  will  not  hear  our  cry,  and  indeed 
anticipate  it,  then  will  the  shriek  go  up  to  our  Father  in  heaven,  '  Father,  Father,  givp 
us  faith.' " 

Is  not  this  appeal  most  touching,  considering  the  source  from  whence  it  comes  ? 
Will  not  Christians  respond  to  it,  and  do  more  to  support  the  Christian  Colleges  of 
India  and  Ceylon,  and  Christian  work  in  every  department  ? 

A  missionary  in  Lucknow,  India,  writes  : — 

"  We  in  India  are  in  the  midst  of  a  great  educatiomd  movement.  The  intellect  of 
these  people  is  awaking  from  the  sleep  of  twenty  centuries,  and  everywhere  the  youth 


138 


may  be  seen  thronging  toward  the  school- 
room. We  have  boldly  entered  the 
country  and  challenged  Buddhism,  Ma- 
hommedanism,  and  Hinduism  to  combat, 
and  now  we  have  no  alternative  short  of 


TKICHINOPOLY   ROCK   AND   "Zii-VrLE. 


Chrisdan  Teachers  IVnntcd.  139 

retreat  lett  us  save  that  of  manfully  trying  to  meet  the  momentous  responsibilities 
which  the  intellectual  awakening  has  imposed  upon  us.  We  cannot  confine  our  work 
to  preaclvng  alone.  As  well  try  to  persuade  the  churches  at  home  to  abolish  their 
colleges  and  seminaries.  We  have  no  choice.  To  shirk  our  responsibility  would 
be  to  postpone  the  final  triumph  of  Christianity  for  generations  to  come,  and  consign 
the  intellect  of  the  country  to  a  depraved  infidelity  compounded  of  the  superstition 
of  the  Hindu,  the  bigotry  of  the  Mahommedan,  the  lethargy  of  the  Buddhist,  and  the 
Sadducean  heartlessness  of  the  European  rational  st.  Christianity  must  at  once  assume 
her  full  responsibility  in  trying  to  guide  this  educational  movement,  so  as  to  make  it  a 
blessing  instead  of  a  curse  to  India." 

The  missionaries  in  India  are  thus  striving  in  a  devoted  spirit,  and  with  a  large 
measure  of  success,  to  impart  a  sound  religious  and  secular  education  to  the  vast 
number  of  youths  who  throng  into  their  institutions.  But  it  is  widely  felt  that  the 
Indian  Mission  Colleges  labour  as  yet  under  one  great  difficulty,  viz.  the  lack  of  a 
sufficient  nurnber  of  able  Christian  teachers  of  good  caste. 

While  recently  in  India  we  visited  the  following  colleges  : — Wesleyan  College, 
Negapatam  ;  S.  P.  G.  College,  Tanjore  :  S.  P.  G.  College,  Trichinopoly ;  Free  Church 
College,  Madras  ;  Free  Church  College^  Bombay  ;  Free  Church  College,  Poona  ; 
London  Mission  College,  Calcutta ;  American  Methodist  Mission  Colkge,  Luck- 
now.  We  found  in  these  great  institutions,  in  the  preparatory  and  collegiate  depart- 
ments, altogether  5030  students;  of  these  374  were  Christians.  We  found  163 
native  teachers,  fifty-one  of  whom  were  Christians  and  112  of  whom  were  non- 
Christians.  These  facts  speak  for  themselves  as  to  the  need  of  additional  Christian 
teachers  for  the  mission  colleges  of  India.  The  Hindu  and  Mahommedan  teachers,  as 
a  rule,  outnumber  the  native  Christian  teachers.  It  is  not  unusual  to  find,  in  Indian 
Mission  Colleges  and  High  Schools,  Brahmin  teachers,  with  heathen  marks  on  their 
foreheads,  sitting  before  their  students  in  the  class  rooms  teaching  B.A  and  F.A. 
subjects,  while  the  native  Christian  teachers  take  lower  subjects,  and  sometimes  a 
Pariah  or  Shanar  native  pastor  teaches  the  Bible  lesson.  This,  as  can  be  easily  seen, 
tends  to  make  an  unfavourable  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  students  in  regard  to 
the  value  and  importance  of  Christianity.  It  may  be  ])artly  as  a  result  of  this  that  many 
Indian  :Mission  Colleges  have  to  report  so  comi)aratively  small  a  number  of  conversions 
among  their  students.  Mission  Colleges  will  never  be  such  powerful  evangelizing 
agencies  as  they  ought  to  be  until  this  state  of  things  is  rectified.  The  missionaries 
themselves  drplore  it,  and  would  most  gladly  fill  the  places  of  time  heathen  teachers 
7vith  Christian  men  of  influence  and  thorough  education,  if  enough  of  such  could  be 
obtained.     The  Principal  of  the    Lucknow   American  Mission    College   writes   in   a 


I40  Jaffna,  a  Key  to  India. 

recent  annual  report,  speaking  of  that  large  mission  :  "  The  demand  in  all  parts  of 
the  field  is  rapidly  increasing  :  we  could  employ  two  hundred  Christian  teachers  at 
once  were  they  available  ;  as  it  is  we  are  obliged  to  employ  Hindu  and  Mahommedan 
teachers." 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Christian  community  in  India  is  comparatively 
small  as  yet  (one  in  looo  of  the  population),  and  is  composed  mostly  of  converts  from 
the  low  caste  or  outcast  classes,  and  not  from  those  who  are  Hindus  proper.  The  low 
castes,  having  been  ground  down  by  poverty  and  oppression  for  centuries,  are  mentally 
inferior  to  the  high  castes,  and  many  would  not  be  intellectually  able  to  take  a  full 
B.A.  course  in  English.  Besides,  the  low  caste  as  a  rule  are  poor,  and  therefore  most 
of  them  have  not  the  means  to  give  their  sons  an  extended  education. 

Now,  ti/rnhii^  and  viennng  the  facts  in  Jaffna,  we  find  an  almost  opposite  state  of 
things.  The  English  and  American  missions,  by  God's  providence  and  blessing,  have 
been  able  largely  to  evangelize  the  upper  castes.  I'here  are  in  the  churches  of  the 
three  missions  in  Jaffna  over  2500  communicants,  or  nearly  one  in  100  of  the  popula- 
tion, mostly  of  high  caste,  and  there  are  in  the  Christian  day-schools  of  these  missions 
15,000  children,  also  mostly  of  high  caste.  Educated  Jaffna  Christians  are,  as  a  rule, 
able  and  reliable  men.  A  former  Governor  of  Madras,  Sir  Charles  Trevelyan, 
Slid  that  he  found  no  young  men  so  useful  to  him  in  administration  of  affairs  as  those 
trained  in  the  College  (Seminary)  at  Jaffna,  We  believe  that  this  is  Jaffna' s  great 
opportunity  to  help  India,  and  that  with  God's  blessing  Jaffna  may  prove  to  be  a  key 
to  India  in  reaching  its  tipper  castes,  India  is  very  accessible  from  Ceylon,  and  native 
boats  can  cross  to  India  in  a  night. 

Were  the  Jaffna  College  well  equipped  and  affiliated  with  a  University,  Christian 
graduates  could  be  sent  as  helpers  to  many  missions  in  India.  Who  can  ttll  how  great 
a  service  this  would  be  rendering  to  missions,  and  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  India  ? 
Just  as  formerly  missionaries  from  the  little  island  of  lona  went  over  Scotland,  and 
Scotland  is  now  a  Christian  land,  so  from  the  island  of  Ceylon  shall  go,  we  trust, 
in  the  future,  many  native  Christian  workers  to  India,  and,  by  God's  blessing,  help  to 
make  that  great  land  one  day  a  Christian  lind.  With  15,000  children,  mostly  of  high 
caste,  in  the  Christian  day-schools  of  the  missions,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  are 
bright,  promising  lads,  eager  for  an  education  and  able  and  willing  to  i)ay  for  it  in 
whole  or  in  part,  should  not  the  College  endeavour  to  train  as  many  as  possible  for 
Christian  work  in  Ceylon  and  India? 

Almost  the  whole  education  of  the  peninsula  is  in  the  hands  of  the  missionaries,  and 
the  parents,  as  a  rule,  do  not  object  to  their  children  learning  the  Bible  lessons  and 
Christian  songs,  nor  to  their  attending  the  Sabbath-school.     Young   men  and  women 


Persecution  of  Christians  Declining.  141 

from  heathen  famihes  of  good  caste,  on  becoming  Christians  and  joining  the  Church, 
seldom  meet  now  with  any  great  persecution  from  their  relatives,  but  are  generally 
allowed  to  live  as  Christians  in  their  homes,  eating  with  the  other  members  of  the  family. 
Child  marriage  is  not  practised  as  in  India,  and  widow  re-marriage  is  becoming  more 
common.  The  Zenana  system  of  India  does  not  prevail,  though  girls  and  young 
vomen  of  good  families  are  kept  in  some  seclusion.  Caste  prejudices  are  not  so 
strong  as  in  India.  The  people  are  not  so  priest-ridden,  and  many  are  losing  faith  in 
idolatry.  Almost  every  house  is  open  to  visits  of  the  missionaries  and  native  helpers, 
and  Christianity,  instead  of  being  bitterly  opposed  and  looked  down  upon,  is  generally 
respected  in  the  community.  These  and  other  advantageous  circumstances  fit  Jaffna 
to  be  a  nursery  for  Christian  tvorkers.  In  this  favourable  atmosphere  they  may  develop 
strong,  vigorous,  well-balanced  Christian  characters. 

Missionaries  alone  cannot  accomplish  the  vast  work  of  reaching  and  evangelizing 
the  250  millions  of  India.  The  missionary  force  on  the  ground  is  small  (one  ordained 
missionary  to  450,000  people).  It  is  by  natives  that  the  bulk  of  the  work  must  be 
done.  Hence  the  urgent  necessity  to  train  and  send  forth  a  large  and  well-qualified 
staff  of  native  agents.  A  native  can  get  nearer  to  the  people  than  a  foreigner,  can 
understand  better  their  difficulties,  feels  more  free  with  the  language,  and  is  not 
affected  by  the  tropical  sun  as  a  foreigner  is  apt  to  be.  \'iewing  the  matter  also  from 
a  financial  standpoint,  we  find  that  the  cost  of  educating  and  maintaining  native 
workers  is  trifling  compared  with  the  cost  of  educating,  sending  out,  and  maintaining 
foreigners. 

The  cost  of  educating  a  student  in  the  Jaffna  College,  including  food,  clothing, 
books,  incidtntals,  and  tuition,  does  not  exceed  jQ\o  a  year.  It  need  scarcely  be 
said  that  care  is  taken  not  to  allow  the  students  to  learn  extravagant  habits.  They 
wTar  the  native  dress,  eat  the  native  food  of  the  country,  and  live  in  the  simplest 
native  style  Hence  the  graduates  are  willing  to  become  pastors,  catechists,  and 
evangelists  on  small  salaries,  supplied  entirely  by  native  churches.  Of  the  twenty-two 
native  churches  in  Jaffna,  the  majority  are  self-supporting. 

In  a  recent  conversation  with  a  missionary  from  India,  who  had  been  for  many 
years  connected  with  a  missionary  college  in  one  of  the  Presidency  towns,  he  said, 
"  Our  great  difficulty  is  that,  though  we  have  native  Christian  young  men  graduating 
from  our  college  every  year,  we  cannot  secure  them,  as  a  rule,  for  mission  helpers. 
The  reason  is  that  the  Government  offers  twice  or  thrice  as  much  salary  as  our  mission 
is  able  to  give,  and  the  temptation  proves  too  much  for  them,  so  they  enter  Govern- 
ment service." 

But  the  glory  of  the  Jaffna  College  is  that  many  of  its  graduates  do  not  want  to 


MR.  EDWIN  R.  FITCH  (A  GRADUATE  OF  THE  JAFFNA   COLLEGE),  HEAD   MASTER   IN  THE  ENGLISH 

MIDDLE   SCHOOL   OF  THE   CANADIAN   MISSION    IN    UJJAIN,    AND    SOME   OF    HIS 

ASSISTANTS   AND   PUPILS. 


engage  in  Government  service,  but  seek  mission  work,  even  though  the  pay  may  be ' 
only  one-half  or  one-third  of  what  they  could  get  in  secular  employments.  They  have 
found  something  better  worth  living  for  than  making  money.  It  has  been  said,  "  There 
has  never  been  such  giving  toward  religious  objects  as  has  been  shown  by  Hindus  in 
their  worship,  and  if  they  have  done  this  for  false  gods,  what  may  we  not  expect  of 
them  when  they  know  the  true  God?"  May  we  not  hope  that  the  native  Christians 
may  more  and  more  in  the  future  possess  the  Spirit  of  Him  who  said,  "  I  have 
meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of,"  and  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent 
Me." 

It  was  most  touching  to  note  in  the  Church  Missioiary  Intelligencer  for  September, 
1887,  that  two  young  men,  natives  of  Syria,  graduating  from  the  American  Mission 
College  at  Beirut,  on  hearing  of  the  martyrdoms  taking  place  in  Uganda,  offered 
themselves  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society  for  mission  work  in  Africa.  They  knew 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  work,  the  climate,  the  degradation  of  the  people,  but 


Educated  Helpers  Needed.  143 

they  said,  "  We  have  taken  all  this  into  account,  and  we  wish  to  go  to  Africa  and  to 
live  and  die  if  need  be  for  that  people."  They  made  no  stipulations  as  to  salary  or 
kind  of  work.  They  were  mindful  of  their  Master's  last  words,  "  Ye  shall  be  witnesses 
of  Me  .  .  .  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  Obedience  is  simply  a  question  of 
supreme  love  10  Christ. 

When  Garibaldi  had  been  defeated  at  Rome,  he  issued  his  immortal  appeal  : 
"  Soldiers,  I  have  nothing  to  ofiftr  you  but  cold,  and  hunger,  and  rags,  and  hardships; 
let  him  who  loves  his  country  follow  me  :  "  and  thousands  of  youths  of  Italy  sprang  to 
their  feet.  If  the  young  men  and  young  women  in  Christian  lands  love  their  own 
ease  and  comfort  too  much  to  follow  Jesus  to  the  mission-field,  surely  the  time 
is  coming  when  the  very  stones  will  cry  out,  and  from  among  the  converted  heathen 
those  shall  arise  who  will  improve  the  great  opportunity,  which  others  have  despised, 
ot  evangelizing  the  whole  world. 

Jaffna  College  graduates  could  readily  engage  in  evangelistic  work  not  only  in 
Ceylon  but  all  over  South  India,  as  the  Tamil  language,  which  is  the  vernacular  in 
Jaffna,  is  the  language  of  sixteen  millions  of  people  in  Southern  India. 

"  In  towns  and  villages  much  work  can  be  done  by  those  whose  scholastic  attain- 
ments are  not  high — earnest,  humble  workers,  labouring  among  their  own  relatives. 
But  besides  these,  we  must  have  for  the  larger  places  well-educated  helpers,  able  to 
answer  the  numerous  and  often  difficult  objections  which  their  opponents  bring  forward. 
But,  apart  from  the  growing  demand  for  first-class  preachers,  the  country  urgently 
requires  a  class  of  educated  native  Christians,  capable  in  different  spheres  of 
usefulness  of  influencing  other  educated  natives  all  around  them.  And  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  our  plans,  having  for  their  object  the  perfect  independence  of  the  native 
churches,  are  sure  to  prove  abortive  if  native  Christians  are  not  prepared  by  superior 
education  for  the  responsible  and  remunerative  posts  which  have  hitherto  been 
monopolized  by  Hindus,  Mussulmans,  Buddhists,  and  Eurasians." 

There  are  in  Jaffna  over  2500  native  Christian  communicants.  "  A  well-equipped 
college  would  be  the  greatest  boon  to  this  raipdly-increasing  native  Christian  com- 
munity, insuring  to  the  sons  of  native  converts  educational  facilities  which  otherwise 
they  could  not  enjoy,  and  thus  giving  them  a  preparation  which  would  fit  them  for 
lives  of  the  highest  Christian  usefulness.  We  want  not  only  a  warm-hearted  but  a 
strong,  intelligent,  clear-headed  native  Church.  We  would  not  be  content  to  have 
our  converts  and  their  children  remain  on  the  same  low  level  of  intelligence  where  the 
Gospel  found  them.  We  wish  for  them  growth,  advancement,  success ;  and  one  of 
the  wisest  methods  of  insuring  these  is  to  build  up  this  college,  the  uplifting  influence 
of  which  will  be  telt  for  generations  to  come." 


144 


REQUIREMENTS. 

Endowment  for  the  Salary  of  Principal 

Endowment    for    the    Salary    of    one    Married     Foreign 

Professor 
Endowment   for    One-Third  Salary    of    Married  Foreign 

Medical  Professor 
Endowment  for  the  Salary  of  Native  Medical  Professor... 
Endowment  for  the  Salaries  of  three  Native  Professors... 
Permanent  Scholarships  of  ^loo  each  for  60  Students 
(Ten  of  these  Permanent  Scholarships  are  for 
Medical  Students.) 
General  Endowment 

House  and  Furniture  for  Married  Foreign  Professor;^ 600 
Building    Sites    and    Houses    for    Three    Native 

Professors 
Improvement  of  College— Dining  Hall 

Laboratory    and     Physical     Science    Hall    with 

additional  Apparatus 
New  Dormitories  ... 
Library  Bu'lding  and  Library 
General  Improvements  on  existing  Buildings 


Fund. 

;^5,000 

5,000 

2,000 
1,100 
4.500 
6,000 

4.500 


300 
100 

300 
200 
200 
200 


1,900 


Yearly 
Income. 

^250 

250 

100 

55 
225 
-?oo 


=  25 


Total  sum  required  ..._;^3oooo 

The  foregoing  Estimates  of  Requirements  received  the  sanction  of  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  the  Jaffna  College. 

NAMES  OF  DIRECTORS. 

Foieign  Residents. 
W.  C  TwYNAM,  Esq.,  C.M.G.  Government  Agent,  Northern  Province 
Rev.  F.  P.  H.ASTING.S,  D.D,  M.A.,  American  Missionary,  Principal  Jaffna  College. 
Rev.  W.  W.  How  LAND,  M.A.,  American  Missionary. 
Rev.  R.  C.  Hasi INGS,  M.A.,  American  Missionary. 
Rev.  E.  M.  GRiFriTH,  M.A.,  Church  Missionary. 
Rev.  W.  R.  Winston.  Wesleyan  Missionary,  Chairman  Northern  Ceyloni  District. 


Teachers  and  Salaries.  14S 

"Native  Residents. 
C.  W.  Cathiravalu  PiLLAi,  Esc].,  Magistrate. 
R.  Breckenbridge,  Esq.,  Sub-Inspector  of  Schools. 
Rev.  E.  Champion,  Native  Pastor,  Church  Mission. 
Rev.  13.  H.  Rice,  Native  Pastor,  American  xMission. 
J.  R.  Arnold,  Esq.,  Joint  Editor,  Morning  Star. 
Rev.  T.  P.  Hunt,  Native  Pastor  American  Mission. 
T.  C.  Changara  PiLLAi,  Esq.,  Proctor,  Supreme  Court. 
T.  M.  Tambu,  Esq.,  Proctor,  Supreme  Court. 
L.  S.  Strong,  Esq.,  Medical  Practitioner. 
Wm.  Paul,  Esq.,  Dispenser,  Friend-in-Need  Hospital. 
J.  P.  Cooke,  Esq.,  Head  Master,  Bitticotia  High  School. 

We  hope  that  friends  of  education  and  of  Ciiristianity  will  aid  this  enterprise. 
;;£^3o,ooo  may  seem  to  be  a  large  sum^  but  is  it  large  considering  what  is  proposed  to 
be  accomplished  by  it,  viz.  the  extending  and  permanently  endowing  of  a  Christian 
College,  and  a  General  Medical  Mission?  A  lady  in  Glasgow  gave  recently  ^12,500  to 
endow  one  additional  chair  in  the  Glasgow  University,  where  already  they  have  50 
professors  and  teachers. 

It  is  proposed  to  have  180  students  in  the  College.  Of  these,  120  will  be  required 
to  pay  the  whole  cost  of  their  education,  viz.  ^10  a  year,  and  the  remaining  60,  or 
one-third  of  the  whole  number,  we  wish  to  be  able  to  aid  by  scholarships  to  the  extent 
of  one-half  of  their  expenses,  or  j[^^  a  year. 

There  are  in  our  Missions  pastors  and  catechists  of  good  abiUty  receiving  only  ^2 
or  j[^2s  V^"^  month,  who  might  have  been  receiving,  had  they  sought  Government 
employment,  jQZ  or  ;^ro  a  month,  and  yet,  from  love  to  Christ  and  to  His  cause, 
they  have  chosen  Christian  work.  Scholarships  could  sometimes  be  used  in  aiding 
the  sons  of  these  Christian  workers,  for  they  must  find  it  very  difficult  to  pay  the 
whole  sum  required  to  give  their  sons  a  college  education  ;  and  we  have  reason  to 
hope  that  such  boys,  if  taken  into  the  College,  would  become  useful  Christian  workers 
in  their  turn,  having  been  from  earliest  childhood  brought  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  a 
Christian  home. 

Over  50  Bible-women  are  employed  under  the  three  missions  in  Jaffna.  They 
receive  from  %s.  to  i6y.  a  month  as  salary.  A  considerable  number  of  these  are 
widows  who  support  themselves  and  their  little  ones  on  this  small  sum.  To  aid  sons 
of  these  Bible-women  by  scholarships  would  be  a  truly  Christian  deed.  When  a 
native  Christian  mother,  a  widow,  has  dedicated  her  most  precious  treasure,  her  eldest 

Tl 


146  "Aye  be  Stick  in'  in  a  Tree,  Jamie." 

son,  to  mission  work,  surely  it  should  be  a  joy  for  fathers  and  mothers  in  a  Christian 
country  to  help  such  a  one  pecuniarily  in  the  education  of  that  son,  and  so  share  in 
the  blessing  which  is  sure  to  follow. 

;^ioo  will  found  a  permanent  scholarship.  It  might  bear  the  name  of  the  founder, 
or,  if  given  by  a  congregation,  Sunday-school,  or  Bible-class,  the  name  of  the  pastor, 
school  superintendent,  or  teacher.  When  not  convenient  to  pay  the  whole  sum  at 
once,  it  might  be  paid  in  instalments  of;^2o  a  year  for  five  years.  Many  who  cannot 
themselves  afford  such  sums,  yet  out  of  love  for  the  cause  might  be  able  to  interest  a 
circle  of  ten  friends  who  would  each  undertake  to  give  £2  a  year  for  five  years  ;  thus 
a  whole  scholarship  would  be  secured.  An  annual  subscription  of  ^5  would  be  equal 
to  a  temporary  scholarship.  Students  will  write  yearly  letters  to  their  patrons,  giving 
accounts  of  their  studies  and  progress. 

07ily  Christian  young  men  will  be  aided  by  scholarships  or  annual  subscriptions. 
Each  young  man  so  aided  will  sign  an  undertaking  that  he  will  engage  in  mission  work 
under  some  Mission  in  Ceylon  or  India  J  or  a  period  of  years  after  his  graduation  ;  or 
that,  if  he  is  in  any  way  prevented  from  doing  this,  he  will  refimd  10  the  College  all  the 
jnoney  which  he  has  received  from  the  scholarship.  Thus  the  scholarships  will  aid  in 
traini?ig  up  native  Christiatis  pledged  to  mission  toork. 

A  Scotch  laird  once  said  to  his  son,  "Aye  be.stickm'in  a  tree,  Jamie;  it'll  be 
growin'  when  ye're  sleepin'."  We  think  that  to  be  endowing  a  scholarship  in  a 
Christian  college  in  a  heathen  land  is  to  be  sticking  in  a  tree  which  will  be  growing 
while  we  are  sleeping  in  the  dust,  or  rather  when  we  have  left  this  earth  and  are 
rejoicing  in  the  presence  of  our  Saviour. 

A  missionary  of  long  experience  in  India,  when  at  home  on  furlough,  wrote  as 
follows :  — 

"The  people  in  heathen  lands  can  worship  in  private  houses,  or  under  trees,  or  in 
the  open  street  with  little  aid  from  outside,  but  they  imperatively  need  help  in  the 
matter  of  Christian  education.  Without  it  the  churches  cannot  flourish,  their  children 
will  grow  up  in  ignorance  ;  there  is  no  assurance  that  the  Christian  life  which  has  been 
begun  in  them  will  retain  its  hold  upon  the  next  generation.  The  honest,  earnest  cry 
for  a  training  which  shall  produce  a  native  evangelical  agency,  both  as  preachers  and 
teachers,  is  coming  up  from  all  quarters.  In  some  cases  it  is  a  piercing  cry  !  It  is  a 
call  not  for  a  luxury  but  for  a  necessity.  It  ought  to  be  heard  and  heeded.  Mission- 
aries who  are  temporarily  at  home  open  the  papers  and  find  every  week  or  two,  perhaps 
oftener,  the  record  of  a  gift  often  or  twenty  thousand  pounds  sterling  to  this  or  that 
college  or  other  institution  of  learning.  Perhaps  it  may  be  for  a  professorship,  in  addi- 
tion  to  the  twenty,  or  thirty,  or  forty  others  now  secured.     Perhaps  it  may  be  for  an  art 


}l7ij  We  Undertook  this  Work.  147 

gallery  or  a  gymnasium,  or  some  other  desirable  thing  in  connection  with  the  institu- 
tion. They  are  not  narfow-minded  men  and  women  who  do  not  appreciate  the  im- 
portance of  having  everything  that  may  tend  to  the  development  of  the  generations  to 
come.  But  they  cannot  help  saying  within  themselves^  "That  gift  of  ;^2o,ooo ;  it 
will  add  something  to  the  value  of  a  jjrosperous  college^  but  it  would  found  for  all 
time  a  whole  institution  in  our  field.  It  would  at  once  open  the  way  for  a  Christian 
education  to  scores  and  scores  of  young  men^  who^  without  it,  will  have  no  opportunity 
to  fit  themselves  as  preachers  or  teachers.  If  missionaries  do  not  ask  that  some  of 
the  luxuries  which  are  provided  for  institutions  of  learning  in  this  countr}'  be  curtailed 
a  little,  is  it  not  right  that  they  should  ask  for  some  of  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  the 
table,  so  that  the  people  for  whom  they  labour  may  not  be  left  to  starve  ?  " 

We  have  been  sometimes  asked  how  we  were  led  first  of  all  to  undertake  the  work 
of  securing  the  needed  funds  for  this  institution.  In  North  Ceylon  there  were  ten 
missionary  families  among  a  population  of  316,000  people.  Each  family  had  charge 
of  a  district.  We  were  the  only  missionaries  in  a  district  of  20,000  people.  There 
were  in  our  district  twenty-six  day-schools,  with  about  2000  children  in  them.  Of 
these,  several  were  English  schools.  Two  of  these,  with  a  total  attendance  of  about 
200  students,  were  situated  near  the  mission  house,  and  the  majority  of  the  students 
attended  our  station  Sabbath-school.  The  upper  classes  from  both  schools  also  came 
to  our  house  daily  for  a  Bible  lesson  in  English,  and  for  help  in  their  secular  studies. 
Having  them  thus  with  us  daily,  both  during  the  week  and  in  our  Sunday-school 
classes,  we  became  deeply  interested  in  them,  and  regarded  them  as  younger  brothers. 
Most  of  them  came  from  heathen  homes,  and  wore  the  marks  of  the  god  Siva  on  their 
foreheads,  yet  we  noticed,  as  we  went  on  teaching  them  the  truth,  that  without  our 
asking  them  to  do  so,  one  after  another  began  of  their  own  accord  to  leave  off  the 
heathen  marks.  Many  of  them  began  to  attend  the  church  services,  several  joined 
the  inquirers'  class,  and  some  from  time  to  time  professed  faith  in  Christ,  and  were 
received  into  the  Church.  We  knew  that  many  more  were,  in  their  hearts,  really 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel,  and  were  just  at  the  turning-point  of  their  lives. 

Many  of  these  boys,  on  leaving  the  English  day-schools,  were  desirous  of  a  higher 
education.  What  would  they  do?  Some  would  go  to  the  Jaffna  College  and  ask  to 
be  received,  but  the  college  has  at  present  limited  accommodation,  and  perhaps  they 
could  not  pay  the  required  fees.  Perhaps  of  twenty  boys  leaving  the  English  day- 
schools  in  our  district  each  year,  two  or  three  would  be  received  into  the  college. 
What  would  the  others  do  ?  They  were  determined  to  have  a  higher  education. 
They  would  go  to  India,  to  study  in  heathen  or  non-Christian  schools,  where  they 
could  live  in  the  houses  of  their  heathen  relations,  and  be  aided  in  their  expenses  by 


IMAGJt  OK  UNE  Ob'  Tilh.  FIVK  "  I'ANUIANS'     IN  TKLVAiNDKL'.M   FORT. 


Back  to  Heathenism      149 

heathen  relatives.  We  have  known 
fourteen  of  our  dear  boys,  whom 
we  had  taught  for  years,  and  had 
learned  to  love,  go  over  to  India  in 
one  night,  most  of  them  to  study  in 
that  sink  of  iniquity  and  moral 
leprosy — Kompa-kornum . 

We  knew  that  these  boys  would 

board   in  heathen    families,    would 

be  compelled  the  first  night,  before 

they  ate  their  food,  to  put  on  the 

heaihen  ashes,  and   to  wear   them 

always;    that    they   would   not   be 

allowed   to    attend    any    Christian 

services,  but  would   be   obliged  to 

go    to.  temples,    perform     heathen 

ceremonies,     study     the      heathen 

books ;  that  they  would  hear  Christ 

constantly  reviled,  and  the  Christian 

religion  mocked  and  scorned,  and 

that  being   under   these    influences 

for   a  period  of  years,  they  would 

come  back  to  us  bitter  heathens,  or 

agnostics,    or   infidels,    to    be    our 

worst  opposers,  and  morally  unfit  to 

become  the  husbands  of  the  pure 

young  girls  who  were  being  trained 

in  mission  day  and  boarding  schools, 

to  whom  in    many    instances    they 

were  engaged. 

When  we  were  in  India  in  1SS2, 

I  and  again  in  1885, we  took  occasion 

to  visit    the    cities    of  Negapatam, 

Tanjore,      Trichinopoly,     Madura, 

THE  CRUEL  GODDESS  KALI.  and  IMadras,    and  to  see  the  Jaffna 

young  men  who  were  studying  in  the  heathen  or  Government  schools  in  those  cities^     It  pained  our 

hearts  to  find  them  livmg  among  heathen  surroundings,  and  to  see  how  worldly  and  irreligious  they 

II* 


A   GROUP   OF   CHRISTIAN    SINGERS 


150 


Ponniah. 


(PONNIAH    WITH   THE   VIOLIN.) 


had  grown,  and  how  far  they  had 
retrograded  since  they  had  left 
us  in  Jaffna.  We  knew  that  had 
these  young  men  been  studying 
instead  in  the  Jaffna  College, 
under  the  strong  Christian  in- 
fluence there,  they  would  in  all 
probability,  with  God's  blessing, 
have  given  their  hearts  to  Christ, 
and  been  preparing  for  lives  of 
Christian  usefulness  in  Ceylon  or 
in  India. 

As  we  went  on  teaching  large 
classes  of  boys  from  year  to  year, 
on  week-days  and  Sabbaths, 
loving  them,  labouring  and  pray- 
ing for  their  conversion,   seeing 

them  almost  persuaded  to  be  Christians,  and  then  at  the  critical  moment  finding 
large  numbers  of  the  brightest  and  most  promising  leave  us  year  by  year  for  these 
heathen  schools  in  India,  it  seemed  as  though  we  could  not  bear  it.  We  made  a 
census  of  the  peninsula  of  Jaffna,  and  found  that  about  200  Jaffna  young  men  were 
tlien  studying  in  schools  outside  of  Jaffna.  When  we  pictured  to  ourselves  the 
almost  overpoweringly  evil  influences  with  which  we  had  seen  them  surrounded 
in  India,  and  the  effect  these  must  have  on  their  characters  ;  and  when  we  reflected 
that  were  the  Jaffna  College  enlarged  and  its  course  of  instruction  extended,  many 
of  these  students  might  have  been  kept  in  Jaffna  instead  of  being  allowed  to  go 
to  India  away  from  parental  restraint  and  from  all  Christian  influence;  and  as  we 
heard  at  the  Union  Missionary  Prayer  Meetings  the  missionaries  of  all  the  three 
societies  in  Jaffna  again  and  again  deplore  the  existing  state  of  things  ;  we  felt 
that  something  ought  to  be  done,  that  it  was  not  enough  merely  to  deplore  the  evil 
thing,  that  we  ought  to  try  to  remedy  it.  The  thought  also  of  the  good  these  young 
men  of  high  caste  might  do,  if  brought  to  Christ,  in  replacing  lieathen  teachers  in 
mission  schools  in  India,  was  constantly  present  to  our  minds. 

A  circumstance  which  took  place  at  that  time  helped  to  lead  us  to  a  decision. 
We  were  told,  one  afternoon,  that  a  boy  named  Ponniah  was  going  to  be  sent  by 
his  parents  to  India  the  next  day.  We  were  specially  attached  to  this  bright  young 
Christian  boy,  the  son  of  Christian  parents.     He  was  always  ready  to  do  Christian 


"  Ponniak  must  be  Educated!  " 


151 


work  ;  he  was  a  sweet  singer,  and  had  constantly  assisted  us  by  singing  at  our  open  air 
and  village  meetings.  We  went  at  once  to  the  house.  We  spoke  as  earnestly  as  we 
could  with  the  parents,  begging  them  not  to  send  their  son  to  India.  They  said, 
"  What  can  we  do  ?  We  have,  as  you  know,  a  large  family  of  little  children,  and 
Ponniah  must  be  educated,  that  he  may  be  able  to  help  his  younger  brothers  and 
sisters.      We  are  unable  to  educate  him  in  Jaffna  College.      We  have  asked  the 


A   PROFESSOR   AND   STUDENTS   IN   THE  JAFFNA   COLLEGE. 


Principal  of  the  College  and  all  the  missionaries  to  help  us,  but  they  say  they  are  already 
aiding  as  many  as  they  possibly  can.  A  heathen  relative  has  offered  to  educate  him  in 
India.  We  do  not  believe  he  will  become  a  heathen,  even  though  he  studies  in  a 
heathen  school.  We  sec  no  other  way;  we  rm/st  send  him  to  India."  We  pleaded 
with  them  till  far  into  the  night.  We  told  them  that  a  man  cannot  take  fire  into 
his  bosom  and  not   be  burned,  and  that  we  had  seen   the  state  of  things   in  these 


152  More  than  half  Subscribed. 

heathen  schools  in  India,  and  felt  sure  that  this  boy  could  not  spend  four  or  five  years 
of  the  most  formative  period  of  his  life  there  without  being  contaminated.  However, 
we  could  not  shake  their  resolution  to  send  the  boy  to  India. 

In  imagination  we  saw  the  long  procession  in  years  to  come  of  just  such  bright, 
promising  boys  going  to  India  and  returning  lost  to  purity  and  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 
We  could  not  bear  the  thought.  We  went  home  that  night,  got  down  on  our  knees  and 
asked  God  to  help  us  to  raise  the  funds  needed  to  extend  the  tvork  of  the  College.  From 
that  hour  to  this  our  courage  has  never  faltered — not  for  a  jnomcnt.  We  believe  Christ 
laid  the  burden  of  this  work  on  our  hearts^  and  we  took  it  up  in  the  strength  of  Him 
who  is  the  great  burden-bearer. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Jaffna  College  sanctioned  our  effort.  The  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  in  Boston,  whose  missionaries  we  are, 
kindly  granted  us  permission  to  come  home  on  furlough,  and  they  have  since  extended 
our  furlough  that  we  might  go  on  with  this  work  till  its  completion.  We  arrived  in 
England  on  January  ist,  1887.  The  same  year,  a  committee  to  aid  us  m  this  work  was 
formed  in  Edinburgh.  God  has  opened  many  homes  and  hearts  in  response,  we 
believe,  to  the  prayers  of  many  in  Jaffna  who  daily  remember  us  and  this  cause  before 
the  throne  of  grace.  We  have  secured  up  to  May,  1890,  ^17,000,  given  or 
promised  for  the  Jaffna  College  and  General  Medical  Mission.  This  leaves  _;^i3,ooo 
yet  to  be  secured  to  complete  the  _;z{^3o,ooo  aimed  at.  However  long  or  however 
short  a  time  it  may  take  to  secure  this  amount,  we  intend  to  continue  our  efforts,  so 
long  as  we  believe  it  to  be  God's  will,  and  so  long  as  He  gives  us  health  and  a 
wide  open  door,  until  the  whole  sum  is  secured. 

We  would  consider  several  years  of  work  well  spent  if  only  we  might  see  the  Jaffna 
College  permanently  equipped  with  additional  foreign  and  native  professorships,  with 
a  larger  staff  of  earnest  Christian  professors  and  teachers,  with  scholarships  for  needy 
Christian  students,  with  some  additional  buildings  and  appliances,  and  thus  enabled 
better  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  people  of  Jaffna;  also  a  fully-equipped  General 
Medical  Mission  established  in  connection  with  it,  and  under  the  direction  of  the  same 
undenominational  and  unsectarian  Board  of  Directors,  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  whole 
peninsula.  We  also  desire  to  see,  in  due  time,  the  establishment  of  a  Medical  Mission 
for  Women. 

We  have  often  been  asked  if  we  did  not  feel  anxious  as  to  the  success  of  our  scheme. 
Did  we  think  we  should  realize  our  ambition  ?  During  the  six  winters  in  which  we 
worked  among  the  negroes  of  the  Southern  States,  before  going  to  Ceylon,  and  during 
the  seven  years  we  were  in  Ceylon,  if  we  had  one  ambition,  one  aim  in  life,  it  was  to  do 
good.     But  two  years  ago,  when  one  of  us  was  ill  for  two  months,  and   it  looked  as  if 


The  Tables  Turned.  153 

perhaps  this  work,  so  dear  to  us,  must  be  given  up,  we  changed  our  aim  in  life,  and 
now  ?  Now  our  ambition  is  to  do  the  wi/l  of  God,  whatever  that  may  be.  We  know 
His  7vill  is  perfect.  We  know  it  is  the  one  utterly  good  thing  in  all  the  world, 
and  that  the  highest  and  the  only  success  for  us  in  life  consists  in  doing  the  will  of  God 
day  by  day. 

With  regard  to  the  urgent  claims  of  the  foreign  field,  we  would  like  just  here  to 
quote  a  few  words  from  an  address  of  Mr.  R.  P.  Wilder,  delivered  at  a  recent  meeting 
in  Philadelphia  : — 

I  w  ant  to  give  to  you  a  thought  which  was  su;  gesteci  to  me  a  few  months  ago,  as  I  was  walking  up 
one  of  the  streets  of  New  Yori<  City.  The  thought  was  this  I  put  myself  into  the  places  of  those 
people  in  India ;  I  remembered  the  story  of  the  Brahm.m  who  came  to  one  of  our  missionaries  and 
said,  "  Sahib,  I  have  been  up  North  and  bathed  in  the  Hanga  Nadi  to  wash  away  my  sins.  I  have 
been  to  shrines  in  the  East  and  shrines  in  the  West.  Once  I  was  young,  and  now  I  am  old.  My 
hair  and  beard  have  grown  gray,  but  I  have  not  found  peace.  Can  you  help  me  ?  "  A  s  I  was  thinking 
of  that  man,  my  mind  went  back  to  the  time  when  Barnabas  and  Paul  crossed  the  bridge  spanning  the 
Orontes.  But  they  go  East  instead  of  going  West.  India  is  evangelized  instead  of  Greece,  China 
instead  of  Rome,  and  Asia  instead  of  Europe,  so  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  is  left  in  heathen  darkness. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  my  own  father  journe)ed  from  one  shrine,  to  another  trying  to  find  peace.  At 
last  he  goes  to  the  northern  part  of  the  Britisli  Isles  ;  and  there  he  sits,  under  a  towering  oak.  with  a 
Druid  priest,  trying  to  find  peace.  And  when  he  is  dying  he  calls  i;ie  to  his  side  and  says :  "  Son, 
once  I  was  young,  and  now  I  am  old.  My  hair  and  my  beard  have  grown  gray,  but  I  have  not  yet 
found  peace.  Can  you  help  me } "  And  I  answer,  "  No,  father,  I  cannot,"  and  he  dies.  Then  I 
study  medicine  and  astrology,  trying  to  find  peace.  But  one  day,  in  the  course  of  my  studies,  I  meet 
a  man  who  has  seen  a  missionary.  "  Oh,"  he  says,  "  that  missionary  used  wonderful  words.  He  said 
that  'God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him 
might  not  perish.'"  I  stopped  him.  "Sir,"  said  I,  "where  can  I  find  that  missionary?"  He  tells 
me.  I  start  off,  and  after  two  weeks'  walking,  I  meet  him  in  a  little  village  in  Spain.  Again  I  hear 
those  wonderful  words  that  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever believeth  on  Mim  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  ''  Sir,"  said  I,  "  how  long  is  it 
since  Christ  died?"  "Eighteen  hundred  years."  "Your  father  knew  about  Christ?"  "Yes." 
"  Your  grandfather  knew  about  Christ  ?  "  "  Yes."  "  Why  did  not  your  father  come  to  tell  my  father? 
My  father  spent  from  childhood  to  old  age  seeking  peace,  and  died  without  it.  Sir,'' said  I,  "are 
there  many  people  in  your  country  who  know  about  Christ?"  "Yes,  we  have  an  average  of  one 
minister  to  every  800  of  our  population,  we  have  an  average  of  one  Christian  worker  to  every  forty- 
eight,  and  we  have  an  average  of  one  church  communicant  to  every  five  of  our  population."  '*  Well, 
sir,"  said  I,  "why  don't  they  come  over  and  tell  us  Anglo-Saxons  about  Christ?"  He  could  not 
answer,  and  in  the  still  watches  of  the  night,  it  seemed  to  me  I  could  hear  a  voice  from  on  high  saying, 
"  If  thou  forbear  to  deliver  those  that  are  drawn  to  death,  and  those  that  are  ready  to  be  slain,  if  thou 
sayest.  Behold  ive  knezv  it  not,  doth  not  lie  that  fondereth  the  heart  consider  it  ?  And  He  that  keepeth 
thy  soul,  doth  He  not  know  it  ?    And  shall  not  He  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  works  f  " 

Some  of  the  native  Christians  in  Ceylon  have  made  great  sacrifices,  and  endured 
much  persecution  and  ridicule  from  their  friends  and  relatives  in  confessing  Christ,  and 
so  have  proved  themselves  worthy  of  the  aid  whith  it  may  cost  Christians  in  this 


154 


No  Sacrifice." 


happy  and  favoured  land  some  little  sacrifice  to  give.  The  Master  says,  "  Whosoever 
shall  confess  Me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  before  My  Father  and  before  the 
angels."  Is  it  enough  to  confess  Christ  before  a  small  circle  of  loving  friends  in  one's 
church  at  home  ?  Surely  it  is  not  for  such  a  small  and  easy  thing  that  so  great  a 
reward  is  promised.  In  the  early  days^  confessing  Christ  meant  loss,  suffering, 
martyrdom,  if  need  be  Christ  asks  nothing  less  of  us  because  He  asks  everything  of 
us.  "  Whosoever  he  be  of  you  that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  he  cannot  be  My 
disciple."  The  test  of  discipleship  is  the  same  now  as  then.  Christ  asks  for  entire 
consecration  to  Him  of  all  that  we  are  and  have.  He  wants  our  whole  hearts,  or 
none  at  all,  and  our  time,  our  talents,  and  our  entire  possessions  said  at  His  feet, 
placed  at  His  disposal.  The  Apostle  Paul  tells  us,  ^'  Ye  are  7iot your  otu7i,  ye  are  bought 
with  a  price."  Not  Paul  only,  but  every  Christian  should  be  able  to  say,  "  For  me  to 
live  is  Christ !  " 

Livingstone,  in  Africa,  said,  '•'  J  -cuill  place  no  value  on  ajiything  I  have  or  may 
possess,  except  in  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  If  anyt/iing  will  advance  the  interests 
of  that  kingdom,  it  shall  be  given  away  or  kept  only,  as,  by  giving  or  keeping  it,  I  shall  most 
promote  the  glory  of  Him  to  whom  I  owe  all  my  hopes  in  time  and  in  eter?iity  ;  may  g7-ace 
be  given  me  to  adhere  to  this  J' 

If  when  we  read  Christ's  command  and  promise,  '^  Go  .  .  .  Lo,  J  am  witli  you 
always"  we  could  say  with  Livingstone,  " //  is  the  word  of  a  Gentleman  of  the  most 
sacred  and  strictest  honour,  a7id  there's  an  end  on't,"  surely  every  service  would  become 
a  joy,  and  we  could  add  with  that  veteran  missionary,  "  /  never  made  a  sacrifice.  Can 
that  be  called  a  sacrifice  which  is  simply  paid  back  as  a  part  of  a  great  debt  otving  to  our 
God,  which  we  can  never  repay  ?  Is  that  a  sacrifice  wiiich  brings  its  own  blest  rervard  in 
healthful  activity,  the  consciousness  of  doing  good,  peace  of  mind,  and  a  bright  hope  of  a 
glorious  destiny  Jiereafter  ?  Away  with  tlie  word  in  such  a  view,  and  with  such  a 
thought!     It  is  emphatically  no  sacrifice,  say  rat/ier  n  is  a  privilege." 


MASK   OF  A    DEVIL-DANCER,    OR   PROFESSIONAL   EXORCIST. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

The  Medical  Mission  A(;ency. 

T  is  our  earnest  desire  to  see  a  General  Medical  Mission  established  in 
North  Ceylon,  also  a  Medical  Mission  for  Women,  the  two  working  in 
harmony,  and  the  one  being  the  complement  of  the  other. 

Are  Medical  Missions  needed  as  an  evangelizing  agency  in  the  foreign 
field  ?  We  would  like  to  give,  in  answer  to  this  question,  a  few  extracts  from 
Dr.  Lowe's  able  book  on  Medical  Missions  : — 

"The  Gospel  means  'glad  tidings,'  and  preaching  the  Gospel  means  the  setting 
forth  of  the  best  of  all  glad  tidings — the  love  of  God  to  man.  The  heathen,  as  a  rule, 
can  best  be  taught,  as  we  teach  little  children  in  our  schools,  by  object  lessons.  The 
Gospel  ought,  therefore,  to  be  preached  to  them  alike  by  the  living  voice  and  by  the 
unmistakable  argument  of  loving  deeds.  Like  the  Apostle  Paul,  the  true  missionary, 
the  workman  that  ncedeth  not  to  be  ashamed,  must  be  able  to  say,  '  By  word  and 
deed  I  have  fully  preached  unto  the  Gentiles  the  Gospel  of  Christ.' 


156  Tlie  Argument  for  Medical  Missions. 

"  To  the  heathen  abroad  as  well  as  to  the  godless  at  home  the  most  convincing  proof 
of  the  reality  and  power  of  the  Divine  love  is  that  it  begets  love  for  man.  '  Faith, 
Hope,  Love,  these  three,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  Love,'  love  to  God  begetting 
love  for  man;  and  what  is  the  aim  and  object  of  true  Christian  love?  It  is  the 
welfare  of  my  brother,  the  welfare  of  his  body,  the  welfare  of  his  soul,  his  welfare  for 
time,  his  welfare  for  eternity.  Holding  forth  the  Word  of  Life,  both  by  the  living 
voice  and  by  a  practical  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  is  therefore  the  true 
meaning  of  *  Preaching  the  Gospel.'  It  implies  something  more  than  the  mere 
proclamation  of  the  Gospel  message ;  it  implies  that,  as  He  who  is  the  sum  and 
substance  of  the  Gospel  sympathized  with  suffering  humanity,  fed  the  hungry,  healed 
the  sick,  and  went  about  continually  doing  good,  thus  ever  manifesting  the  spirit  of 
His  own  religion,  and  teaching  by  His  '  gracious  words,'  and  by  His  loving  deeds, 
its  principles,  so  His  ambassadors  must  '  preach  the  Gospel,'  not  by  word  only,  but 
likewise  by  a  loving,  benevolent,  Christ-like  ministry  performed  in  Christ's  name  and 
for  His  sake. 

"The  evangelization  of  the  world  is  Christ's  own  work,  and  those  who,  as  His 
instruments,  are  called  to  engage  in  it,  are  commissioned  to  represent  Christ,  to 
represent  Him  in  His  tender  pity  for  the  lost,  in  His  loving  sympathy  for  the  afflicted, 
in  His  care  for  the  sick  and  His  compassion  for  the  suffering.  We  turn,  therefore, 
to  Christ's  ministry  on  earth  for  the  interpretation  of  His  own  commission,  '  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.' 

"  In  reading  the  New  Testament  one  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  fact  that  our 
Lord's  personal  ministry  on  earth  as  well  as  that  of  His  Apostles  was  pre-eminently 
that  of  the  medical  missionary.  Jn  the  last  three  verses  of  the  fourth  chapter  of  St. 
Matthew's  Gospel  we  read :  '  And  Jesus  went  about  all  Galilee,  teaching  in  their 
synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  sick- 
ness and  all  manner  of  disease  among  the  people.  And  His  fame  went  throughout 
all  Syria  :  and  they  brought  unto  Him  all  sick  people  that  were  taken  with  divers 
diseases  and  torments,  and  those  which  were  lunatic,  and  those  that  had  the  palsy  ; 
and  He  healed  them.  And  there  followed  Him  great  multitudes  of  ))eople  from 
Galilee,  and  from  Decapolis,  and  from  Jerusalem,  and  from  Judea,  and  from  beyond 
Jordan.' 

'•  Our  Lord  was  just  then  entering  upon  His  public  ministry.  He  knew  man's  heart, 
the  way  to  gain  access  to  it,  its  prejudices,  and  the  many  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
people  receiving  His  teaching ;  and  knowing  all  this,  such  were  the  means  He  em- 
ployed to  reveal  His  character  and  claims,  to  remove  prejudice,  and  to  draw  men 
nearer  to  Himself     By  the  exercise  of  His  healing  power  He  gathered  around  Him  a 


Christ's  Miracles  of  Healing.  157 

great  congregation,  with  hearts  overflowing  with  gratitude,  and  thus  the  searching 
truths  of  '  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount '  fell  as  living  seed  on  a  prepared  soil.  When 
we  inquire  into  our  Lord's  recorded  miracles,  we  find  that  no  fewer  than  two-thirds 
were  miracles  of  healing.  .  .  .  These  miraculous  works  of  healing  were  unanswer- 
able proofs  that  He  was  what  He  claimed  to  be,  the  Son  of  God ;  but  they 
were  more,  they  were  living  manifestations  of  the  spirit  of  His  own  religion  ;  they 
spoke  a  language  intelligible  to  every  human  conscience;  they  revealed  His  tender 
compassion,  His  loving  sympathy,  His  incomprehensible  love,  and  in  this  light  His 
own  disciples  regarded  them  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  word  of  t^saias,  '  Himself  took 
our  infirmities,  and  bare  our  sicknesses.' 

"  As  the  Divine  Author  and  Founder  of  Christianity,  the  record  of  our  Lord's 
personal  ministry  must  ever  be  to  us  deeply  suggestive  and  instructive.  Every  feature 
of  that  mmistry  claims  our  devout  attention.  His  mode  of  commending  the  truth  in 
so  far  as  it  was  supernatural,  we  cannot  imitate,  but  in  so  far  as  the  outcome  of  His 
'  mighty  works '  was  meant  to  be  a  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  (as  much 
needed  now  as  then)  '  He  hath  left  us  an  example  that  we  should  follow  in  His 
steps.' 

"  As  our  authority  for  the  employment  of  this  agency  we  have  not  only  our  Lord's 
example,  but  likewise  His  direct  command.  What  He  did  Himself  He  commissioned 
His  Apostles  and  the  first  teachers  of  Christianity  to  do  likewise  :  '  And  into  whatso- 
ever city  ye  enter  .  .  .  heal  the  sick  that  are  therein,  and  say  unto  them,  The 
Kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you.'  ...  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  it  was 
by  the  fonh-putting  of  His  own  Divine  power  that  Christ  did  these  'mighty  works,' 
which  spread  His  fame  throughout  all  Syria,  and  that  it  was  in  virtue  of  their 
miraculous  endowments  (now  no  longer  available)  that  His  disciples  made  the  deaf  to 
hear,  the  blind  to  see,  and  the  lame  to  walk,  and  that,  therefore,  their  method  cannot 
now  be  a  model  for  our  imitation.  Such  an  inference  would  be  legitimate  were  these 
miracles  intended  merely  as  attestations  to  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  as  proofs  of 
the  Divine  origin  of  the  Gospel  which  the  disciples  were  commissioned  to  proclaim ; 
but,  as  we  have  already  seen,  they  were  more  than  this — they  were  a  practical  mani- 
festation of  the  compassionate  spirit  of  Christ's  religion  ;  they  spoke  in  a  language 
that  could  not  be  misunderstood,  of  Him  who  came, '  Not  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but 
to  save  them.'  And  surely,  in  so  far  as  this  was  the  Divine  intention,  these  miracles 
of  healing  are  recorded  for  our  instruction,  teaching  us  that,  in  our  missionary  enter- 
prises, the  consecration  of  the  healing  art  to  the  service  of  the  Gospel  is  not  only  in 
accordance  with  the  Divine  method,  but  forms  a  part  of  the  Divine  intention. 

"  The  '  gift  of  tongues,'  which  enabled  these  first  heralds  of  the  Cross  to  proclaim  to 


158 


A  Medical  Mission  Wanted. 


men  of  all  nations  '  the  wonderful  works  of  God,'  is 
not  now  miraculously  bestowed,  neither  is  the  '  gift  of 
.  healing ; '  but  in  the  one  case  as  in  the   other,  the 

I  .     J^K    ^  qualification   which    the    'gift'    conveyed    must   be 

w     ''^^WL.    'm.  patiently  and  laboriously  acquired.      'He  sent  them 

f      ,5    ^H'^M  to  preach  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  to  heal  the  sick.' 

"  The  Church  recognizes  the  Divine  commission  to 
'  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  '  as  still  binding 
upon  her,  notwithstanding  the  withdrawal  of  the  '  gift 
of  tongues.'  Shall  the  command  of  our  Lord  in 
reference  to  '  healing  the  sick,'  which  formed  so 
prominent  a  feature  of  His  own  earthly  ministry  and 
that  of  His  Apostles,  be  ignored  on  the  ground  that 
miraculous  'gifts  of  healing'  are  now  withheld? 
Nay,  rather,  the  withdrawal  of  those  gifts  renders  it 
all  the  more  imperative  that  we  should  cultivate  and  consecrate,  with  the  utmost 
energy  and  devotion,  not  only  the  science  of  philology,  but  likewise  that  of  medicine, 
that  so  we  may  fulfil  our  Lord's  commission  in  all  its  breadth  and  fulness,  and 
following  His  example,  preach  the  Gospel  '  by  word  and  deed.'  " 

Missionaries  of  three  societies  have  been  at  work  in  the  northern  province  of  Ceylon 
for  over  seventy  years.  At  the  present  time  there  are  less  than  3000  Christian  com- 
municants in  the  province.  If  the  retiiaining  313,000  are  to  be  won  to  Christ  in  this 
generation,  and  surely  nothing  less  than  this  should  be  our  aim  and  effort,  it  seems  very 
desirable  th^t  an  additional  agency,  and  especially  the  agency  of  Medical  Missions, 
should  be  introduced.  As  the  large  numbers  of  heathen  doctors  arc  the  strongest  allies 
of  the  heathen  priests  in  Jaffna,  so  a  Medical  Mission  in  Jaffna  would  be  the  strongest 
ally  of  all  the  Christian  agencies  now  at  work.  How  can  Jaffna  become  largely 
Christian  so  long  as  the  majority  of  the  people  in  times  of  sickness  resort  to  heathen 
doctors,  and  make  vows  and  offerings  to  heathen  gods  ?  Heathenism  is  still  so  gross 
and  rampant  in  North  Ceylon,  that  mission  agencies  can  hardly  count  the  battle  there 
to  be  much  more  than  begun. 

We  need  Medical  Missionaries  who  will  go  to  the  people  in  their  times  of  sorrow  and 
anxiety,  and  by  giving  them  actual  relief,  win  their  gratitude  and  affection,  and  by 
showing  them  the  very  spirit  of  Christ,  gain  the  assent  of  their  hearts  to  Him.  The 
Medical  Missionary  comes  nearer  to  the  people  in  loving  ministry  than  the  average 
missionary  who  has  no  medical  knowledge.     In  the  two  months  of  December,  1888, 


Value  of  a  Mission  Hospital. 


159 


and  January,  1889,  about  2000  people  died  in  Jaffna  from  an  epidemic  of  fever, 
among  whom  very  few  had  received  proper  treatment.  When  smallpox,  cholera,  or 
epidemics  of  malignant  fever  break  out  from  time  to  time,  the  people  die  by 
thousands.  Forty  native  communicants  died  in  Jaffna  last  year.  To  have  saved  the 
lives  of  some  of  these  trained  and  experienced  workers  would  have  been  of  incalculable 
value  to  the  cause.  Of  course,  as  a  Christian  man,  the  Medical  Missionary  will  strive 
to  improve  every  ojiportunity  of  doing  personal  work  among  his  patients  in  the  hospital 
and  dispensary,  and  at  their  own  homes. 

His  Excellency  Sir  Arthur  Gordon,  K.C.B.,  when  visiting  Jaffna,  strongly  urged  that 
a  medical  work  similar  to  that  done  formerly  by  Dr.  Green  should  be  resumed,  and 
followed  up  his  suggestion  by  heading  the  list  with  a  subscription  of  Rs.  1000  for  this 
object.  W.  C.  Twynam,  Esq.,  for  something  like  thirty  years  Government  Agent  in 
Ceylon,  and  an  able,  far-sighted,  and  public-spirited  man,  has  also  strongly  urged  that 
a  Medical  Mission  should  be  established.  The  work  the  Medical  Missionary  is  to 
conduct  will  be  under  the  direction  of  a  Board  composed  of  missionaries  and  native 
Christians  of  the  Church  of  England,  VVesleyan,  and  American  Missions,  the  three 
missionary  societies  carrying  on  work  in  Jaffna.  This  Board  of  Directors  are  also  the 
Directors  of  the  Jaffna  College. 

John  Henry  Marston,  M.R.C.S.,  L.R.C.P.,  formerly 
connected  with  the  Mildmay  Mission  in  London,  has  been 
appointed  by  the  Board  of  Directors  to  take  charge  of  the 
General  Medical  Mission  in  North  Ceylon,  and  he  has  gone 
out  with  his  wife  to  undertake  this  work. 

We  would  earnestly  commend  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Marston  to 
the  affectionate  and  prayerful  remembrance  of  all  who  love 
the  Master  and  desire  to  see  His  Kingdom  come  in  Ceylon. 
Dr.  Marston  is  the  only  Missionary  Physician  in  the 
Northern  Province  among  316,000  people,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  the  civil  surgeon,  the  only  fully  qualified 
medical  man^  we  believe,  in  the  province. 

A  Medical  Mission  Hospital  is  the  strategic  point  in  the 
evangelistic  work  of  a  Medical  Mission.  It  is  from  the 
Mission  Hospital  that  the  majority  of  converts  are  found  to 
come,  in  the  experience  of  the  most  successful  Medical 
Missions  on  record.  It  is  in  the  Mission  Hospital  that  the 
patient  comes  to  know  the  missionary  and  his  assistants,  to 
see  exemplified  in  their  daily  lives  the  spirit  and  power  of 


The  waler  in 
which  ihe  feet  of 
a  fakir  is  washed 
is  given  to  the 
sick  to  be  dnink 
as  a  medicine. 


i6o 


Cost  of  a  Bed. 


the  Gospel.  It  is  there  that  he  learns, 
little  by  little,  to  believe  the  truth  which 
he  hears  read  ani  sung  and  spoken 
from  day  to  day,  and  to  reveal  his 
doubts  and  difficulties,  and  have  them 
removed. 

On  this  point.  Dr.  Lowe  says  in  his 
book  on  Medical  Missions  :  "  It  is  in 
the  hospital  that  the  most  satisfactory 
and  successful  medical  and  surgical 
work  will  be  accomplished — work 
which  will  produce  the  deepest  impres- 
sions, and  direct  public  attention  most 
favourably  to  the  higher  objects  of  the 
mission.  It  is  here,  too,  that  the 
Medical  Missionary  will  be  able  most 
successfully  to  accomplish  evangelistic 
work  -  here  that  he  may  expect  to 
gather  the  most  precious  and  enduring 
fruit.  While  dispensary  work  and 
occasionally  medico-evangelistic  tours 
among  the  surrounding  towns  and 
villages     are     important     features     of 

Medical  Mission  work,  still  the  hospital  will  be  the  field  in  which  the  richest  harvest 
will  be  reaped,  and  therefore  the  establishment  of  a  hospital  should  from  the  first  be 
kept  in  view,  and  accomplished  at  the  earliest  opportunity."  Sums  sufficient  for  the 
erection  of  a  Medical  Mission  Hospital  in  Jaffna  have  been  given  or  promised. 

One  hundred  pounds  will  efidoic  a  bed  in  the  hospital  {providing  permanently  for  a 
part  of  the  expense  of  its  up-keep)*  ;  jC^CyO  icill  provide  the  half  and  ^25  the  quarter  of 
the  eniownient  of  a  bed  ;  £^\o  7vill  provide  a  share  in  a  bed. 

Are  there  not  some  friends  in  Great  Britain  and  America  who  could  each  con- 
tribute one  of  the  above-named  sums,  without  diminishing  their  ordinary  subscriptions 
to  other  Christian  objects,  and  thus  have  a  real  part  in  this  much-needed  Christ-like 
medical  work  in  Ceylon  ? 

*  This  will  provide  for  the  patients  the  shelter  and  ordinary  comforts  of  the  hospital,  and  the 
attendance  of  the  missionary  physician,  (ree  of  charge,  leavinj^  them  to  meet  tlie  cost  of  medicine, 
food,  and  incidentals,  which  expenses  they  would  have  had  to  hear  had  they  remained  in  their 
own  homes. 


DR.    J.    H.    MARSTON. 


Hints  to  Benefactors . 


i6i 


'J'hree  kind  friends  have  of  late  greatly  en- 
couraged us  by  donations  of  ^loo  each.  One  of 
these,  J.  Campbell  White,  Esq.,  who  gave  ^loo 
at  the  beginning  of  our  effort  for  a  scholarship  in 
the  Jaffna  College,  has  kindly  given  ^  loo  for  the 
General  Medical  Mission,  saying  that,  as  he  had 
helped  us  to  secure  the  first  half  oi  the  fund  which 
we  were  seeking,  he  would  give  us  a  similar  help 
towards  the  last  half.  Are  there  not  others  among 
the  friends  who  have  helped  us  in  securing  the 
first  half  of  the  fund  who  will  follow  his  example, 
and  give  a  second  donation  towards  the  last  half  of 
the  fund  ? 

It  would  add  to  the  interest  of  the  effort  if  the 
donors  were  to  associate  with  their  gifts  their  name, 
or  the  name  of  some  one  whom  they  have  honoured 
and  lovedj  and  if  these  names  were  engraved  on 
brass  tablets,  which  would  be  permanently  con- 
nected with  the  beds  thus  endowed,  this  would 
give  a  personality  to  the  gift  in  the  eyes  of  the 
people  of  Jaffna,  and  would  lead  them  to  feel  that 
Christians  in  distant  lands  had  loved  them,  and  made  sacrifices  on  their  behalf,  and 
were  entitled  to  their  gratitude  in  return. 

We  will  most  gladly  pledge  ;;^ioo  in  memory  of  our  beloved  parents.  Cannot 
others  be  found  who  will  do  the  same  in  remembrance  of  those  dear  to  them,  and 
for  the  sake  of  a  work  which  has  as  its  great  object  to  promote  the  progress  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  ?  The  members  of  some  family  circles,  and  perhaps  of  some 
congregations,  SaBbath-schcols,  Bible-classes,  Y.M.C.^.'s,  Y.W.C.A.'s,  &c.,  might 
unite  their  gifts  to  present  such  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  parent,  a  pastor,  a 
teacher,  a  president,  or  a  friend,  who  has  gone  to  be  with  Jesus.  Would  it  be  a  less 
acceptable  monument  than  a  memorial  window  or  a  costly  tomb  ?  A  short  time  ago, 
in  response  to  our  appeal,  the  students  of  the  Old  Ha41,  Wellington,  pledged  not 
merely  a  donation  of  ^loo,  but;^ioo  annually  to  support  a  medical  lady  under  the 
I. F.N. S.  and  I.  Society  as  their  07Vti  missionary  in  Benares.  Might  not  the  e.xample  of 
liberality  set  by  the  students  in  this  school  be  followed  by  many  others?  Sums 
promised  for  beds  might  be  paid  in  instalments  during  five  years  if  the  givers  oi 
collectors  so  desired. 


TWO   UEVIL-DANCERS. 


12 


J  52  A  Medical  Mission  for  Women. 

We  earnestly  hope  that  there  may  be  many  who  will  thus  provide  a  thank-offering 
to  God,  a  permanent  aid  to  the  Medical  Mission  in  Ceylon,  and  a  grateful  memorial 
of  friends  whose  work  on  earth  is  finished.  Surely  God  will  plead  the  cause  of  the 
oppressed,  and  there  are  thousands  upon  thousands  in  North  Ceylon  oppressed  by 
in  and  superstition,  and  held  down  by  heathen  priests  and  doctors.  Surely  the 
cause  which  seeks  to  deliver  their  bodies  from  needless  suffering,  and  their  minds 
and  hearts  from  the  powers  of  darkness  and  evil,  must  be  the  cause  of  humanity  and 
of  Christ. 

Feeling  the  great  and  pressing  need  of  a  Medical  Mission  for 
Women  in  North  Ceylon,  and  believing  that  it  was  God's  will 
that  such  a  work  should  be  begun,  since  He  had  led  kind  friends, 
entirely  unasked  by  us,  to  promise  the  salary  of  a  lady  doctor,  and 
other  friends  to  promise  and  give  additional  sums,  we  were  led  to 
present  the  matter  to  the  Committee  of  the  I.F.N.S.  and  I. 
Society.  We  offered  to  transfer  to  that  Society  all  pledges  and 
sums  already  given  for  the  object,  and  to  do  all  in  our  power  as 
occasion  arose  .to  secure  for  them  the  remainder  of  the  amount 
needed  to  organize  and  sustain  such  a  work,  viz.  ;^3ooo  for  the 
erection  of  a  Medical  Mission-house  and  a  Women's  and 
Children's  Hospital,  and  ^450  in  annual  subscriptions  toward 
the  up-keep  of  the  hospital  and  dispensary,  and  the  support  of 
the  European  and  native  workers,  provided  the  Society  would 
inaugurate  the  work  as  their  own,  and  take  it  under  their  entire 

control. 

To  our  great  joy,  on  the  19th  of  last  June,  the  Committee  of 
the  I.F.N.S.  and  I.  Society,  in  the  most  cordial  manner,  acceded 
to  our  request  that  they  should  establish  a  medical  work  for 
women  in  North  Ceylon,  having  in  contemplation  a  hospital  for 
women  anfl  children,  a  mission-house,  two  fully  qualified  lady 
doctors,  with  a  staff  of  native  assistants,  the  work  to  be  undertaken 
at  the  earliest  date  pos.->ible.  We  thank  God  for  this  token  of 
His  favour,  and  take  new  courage  to  go  on  with  the  effort.  This  Medical  Mission  for 
Women  and  also  the  General  Medical  Mission  will  both  be  located  in  North  Ceylon. 
Each  of  these  missions  will  have  its  separate  and  distinct  work,  a  work  which  it  only 
can  do,  and  both,  we  trust,  will  co-operate  to  the  fullest  extent  with  every  other  agency 
already  employed  in  the  great  work  of  evangelizing  the  people  and  bringing  them  to 
the  knowledge  and  service  of  Christ.      These  two  Medical  Missions,  working  side  by 


MO  I  HER    AM)    c  IIII.D. 


A  Professor  s  Plea. 


163 


LOW   CASTE   WOMEN,    SUCH    AS    ARE    NOW   COM 

MONLY    EMPLOYED    AS   NURSES   TO   THE   SICK. 


side  and  in  fullest  harmony,  will  each  strengthen 
the  work  of  the  other.  According  to  God's  arith- 
metic, two  are  worth  not  merely  twice  as  many  as 
one,  but  ten  times  as  many.  ''  How  should  one 
chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten  thousand  to 
flight?"     (Deut.  xxxii.  30.) 

We  wish  to  quote  here  the  words  of  Professor 
Miller,  in  an  address  at  one  of  the  annual  meetings 
of  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Missionary  Society. 
He  said  : — 

"When  we  come  before  you  with  Scripture 
warrant  on  our  side — with  the  personal  example  of 
our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  not  only  beckoning 
us  on,  but  reproving  us  for  not  having  come — 
with  the  successful  experience  of  medical  missions, 
as  far  as  they  have  yet  been  tried,  speaking  strongly 
in  our  favour,  and  with  the  united  and  cordial 
approval  of  every  missionary  with  whom  we  have 
ever  come  in  contact ;  when  missionaries  all  tell 
us  that  they  find  the  medical  element  so  essential  to  the  success  of  their  \vork  that 
they  are  compelled  sometimes  to  practise  it  themselves  ;  when  labourers  from  all 
quarters  of  the  mission-field,  men  gallantly  bearing  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day,  are  calling  to  us  anxiously  for  medical  colleagues,  not  on  account  of  their  own 
health,  but  to  assist  them  in  their  great  work  of  reaching  the  hearts  of  men  whose 
souls  they  seek  to  save ;  and  when,  had  we  but  the  means  and  men,  we  might  now 
plant,  not  one  or  two  or  three,  but  many  Medical  Missions  in  the  very  heart  and 
strongholds  of  heathenism,  where  they  would  be  gladly  welcomed,  and  by-and-by 
supported  to  a  considerable  extent  by  the  very  heathen  themselves ;  with  such 
claims  as  these,  surely  it  is  neither  unbecoming  nor  unwarrantable  that  we  ask 
earnestly  and  importunately  for  your  sympathy  and  aid.  And  bear  with  me,  if  I 
remind  you  that  you  have  an  important  duty  to  discharge  towards  the  medical 
profession,  that  you  owe  it  a  debt.  Is  there  any  one  here  who  does  not  feel  and 
acknowledge  that  debt  ?  Has  no  father,  or  brother,  or  sister,  or  husband,  or  wife, 
or  child,  been  saved  to  you,  under  God's  providence,  by  the  skill  and  care  of 
the  physician  ?  At  a  time  when  all  seemed  dark  and  hopeless,  and  you  dared 
not  look  into  the  future,  at  a  time  when  the  blackness  of  despair  had  settled 
down,  and  well-nigh  shut  out  heaven  from  your  sight  and  prayer   from  your  lips,  at 


1 64  A  Double  Debt  and  Double  Duty. 

a  time  when  you  would  gladly  have  given  all  the  earthly  treasure  you  possessed, 
or  ever  might  possess,  in  barter  for  the  life  which  seemed  so  fast  and  hopelessly 
ebbing  away,  has  not  the  physician  then  seemed  to  you  as  a  ministering  angel 
sent  to  comfort  you  ?  Have  you  not  then  clung  to  him  as  your  best  earthly  friend, 
your  only  earthly  hope  and  stay  ?  And  when  success  attended  his  efforts  in  battling 
with  disease  and  death,  when  life,  and  hope,  and  health  came  smiling  back,  have  you 
not  wet  his  hand  with  your  tears  of  gratitude,  and  sent  him  away  laden  with  your 
blessing  and  your  prayers  ?  Or  was  it  your  own  life  that  was  quivering  in  the  balance 
at  a  time,  perhaps,  when  a  downward  turn  would  have  hazarded  a  double  death,  but 
when  the  upward  cast,  still  due,  apparently,  to  the  hand  of  the  physician,  bade  you 
live  again  for  time  and  for  eternity?  Ah,  then  surely  the  argument  we  now  venture  to 
use  will  come  home  with  a  double  force.  Each  one  who  has  felt  this,  or  aught  like 
this,  will  surely  acknowledge  a  large  and  growing  debt  of  obligation.  Let  those  debts 
be  all  accumulated  into  one  vast  whole,  not  due,  or  at  least  not  to  be  rendei^d  to  the 
individual  man,  but  to  the  God-like  profession  which  they  represent.  The  opi)or- 
tunity  is  given  you  to  discharge  in  some  measure  that  debt  now. 

"  Honours,  in  old  times,  were  freely  accorded  to  individual  practitioners  of  renown ; 
medals  were  struck  in  their  honour,  bearing  the  legend  '  ob  cives  servatos  '  (on  account 
of  citizens  preserved).  We  seek  no  such  personal  gifts,  but  we  ask  you  to  honour 
the  profession  by  helping  it  to  honour  and  adorn  itself,  by  helping  it  to  write  on  the 
bells  of  the  horses  '  Holiness  unto  the  Lord,'  by  helping  it  to  be  instrumental  in  saving 
the  souls  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  men,  by  helping  it  to  place  in  its  coronet  new  jewels 
of  greatest  value  and  of  brightest  lustre,  by  helping  it  to  twine  in  its  garland  a  new 
wreath  from  the  ever-green  and  ever-growing  plant  of  renown.  And  let  me  add  that, 
in  thus  honouring  the  profession,  you  will  honour  also  that  profession's  Head.  Medi- 
cine has  been  at  no  time  without  her  gods.  The  early  Greeks  owned  Apollo  ;  after 
him  came  ^sculapius  ;  and  gods  and  demigods  followed  in  abundance.  But  the 
power  of  advancing  civilization  struck  away  those  unsightly  capitals  from  the  other- 
wise goodly  column  ;  not  to  leave  it  mutilated  and  bare,  but  to  make  way  for  the  true 
headstone,  to  exalt  and  acknowledge  the  great  Physician,  Jehovah  Rophi,  the  Lord  the 
healer — no  mythical  personage,  but  He  who  in  very  deed  dwelt  with  men  upon  the 
earth,  who  went  about  continually  doing  good,  and  who  has  promised  to  be  with 
His  faithful  followers  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

"  Such  is  the  double  debt  and  double  duty  which  we  ask  you  now  in  part,  at  least, 
to  discharge.  But  do  not  mistake  the  nature  of  the  claim  which  we  make.  We 
seek  your  pecuniary  aid  to  carry  on  this  great  and  noble  enterprise  so  beneficent  to 
men,  so  glorifying  to  God  ;  but  we  do  not  want  your  money  only.     '  Your  money  or 


A  St  art  Hi  or  Demand. 


165 


your  life  '  is  the  startling  demand  of  the  highwayman;  ours  is  more  startling  still  — 
'  Your  money  and  your  life.'  Of  some  select,  gifted,  and  gallant  few,  we  seek  their 
lives,  wholly  devoted  to  the  death  if  need  be,  in  the  service  of  their  great  Master. 
But  of  all,  we  seek  their  life  in  one  sense,  in  the  sense  of  claiming  that  on  which  true 
life  depends,  that  whereby  spiritual  life  is  fed  and  maintained,  without  which  it  dies, 
prayer— intercession  at  the  Throne  of  Grace  !  .  .  .  And  if  it  be  true  that  the  deadly 
conflict  is  now  at  hand  between  truth  and  error,  between  the  powers  of  light  and  the 
powers  of  darkness,  if  the  time  is  now  near  when  we  shall  be  involved  as  combatants 
for  very  life  in  that  eventful  struggle,  how  can  we  look  for  Heaven's  aid,  how  dare  we 
ask  it,  unless  we  be  on  Heaven's  side,  and  doing  the  will  of  Him  who  sits  almighty 
there  ?  How  can  we,  in  the  shock  of  the  coming  battle,  and  in  the  turmoil  of  the 
approaching  fray,  be  otherwise  than  helpless  and  overborne,  unless,  as  faithful  soldiers  of 
the  Cross,  we  be  found  mustered  around  and  fighting  under  the  banner  of  the  Captain 
of  the  hosts  of  the  Lord,  following  where  that  banner  leads,  losing  neither  sight  nor  hold 
of  it — the  banner  of  Him,  whose  latest  command  it  was,  whose  very  watchword  of 
the  fight  is,  '  Go  ye  unto  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.' 

"  '  And  He  sent  them  to  preach  the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  to  heal  the  sick  .  .  . 
And  they  departed,  and  went  through  the  towns,  preaching  the  Gospel  and  healing 
everywhere.'"  (Luke  ix.  2-6.) 


A  company  of 
devil-dancers. 


1 66 


WHA'S  MV  NEIBOR? 
By  George  ISIacdonald,  LL.D. 

DooN  frae  Jerus'lem  a  traveller  tuik  The  laigh  road  to  Jericho  ; 
It  had  an  ill  name  an'  mony  a  cruik,  It  was  lang  an'  unco  how. 

Oot  cam'  the  robbers  an'  fell  on  the  man,  An'  knockit  him  on 

the  heid  ; 
Took  a'  whauron  they  could  lay  their  han',  And  left  him  nakit 

for  deid. 

By  cam'  a  minister  o'  the  kirk  :  "  A  sair  mishanter  ! "  lie  cried  ; 

"  Wha  kens  whaur  the  villains  may  lurk  ?     I's  haud  to  the  ither  side.' 

By  cam'  an  elder  o'  the  kirk  ;  Like  a  young  horse  he  shied  ; 

"Fie  !  there's  a  bonny  mornin's  wark  1 "     An'  he  spang't  to  the  ither  side. 

By  cam'  ane  gaed  to  the  wrang  kirk,  Douce  he  trotted  alang; 

"  Puir  body  I  "  he  cried,  an'  wi'  a  yerk,  Aff  o'  his  cuddy  he  sprang ; 

lie  ran  to  the  body  an'  turn'd  ic  ower,  "There's  life  i'  the  man  I  "  he  cried  ; 
He  wasna  ane  to  stan'  an'  glower,  An'  haud  to  the  ither  side. 

He  doctor'd  his  wounds  an'  heised  him  on  To  the  back  of  the  beasty  douce  ; 
An'  held  him  there,  till,  a  weary  man.  He  langt  at  the  half-way  house. 

He  ten'd  him  a'  nicht,  an'  at  dawn  o'  day,  ' '  Lan'lord  "  (he  says)  "  latna  him  lack  ; 
There's  auchtecnpence  ;  ony  mair  ootlay  I'll  saltle  as  I  come  back." 

Sae  nae  mair,  neibors— say  nae  sic  word,  Wi'  lierl  aye  arguin'  an'  chili  ; 
No,  '•  Wiiae's  the  neibor  to  me,  O  Lord  ?  "  But,  "  Wha  am  I  neibor  till  ?" 


APPENDIX. 

HE   story  of  Maria    Peabody,    from 

the  pen  of  some  unknown  friend, 

appeared  in  Life  and  Light.     It  is 

true  in  all  its  details,  and  we  append 

it  here  in  the  hope  that  it  may  encourage  those 

who  cannot  go  to  the  foreign  field  in  person  to 

give  in  aid  of  the  work.     Ought  not  every  man 

and  every  woman,  who  can  do  so,  to  support  a 

representative  as  t/ieir  personal  substitute  among 

the  heathen  ? 

Mrs.  Graltan  Guinness  has  said,  "  IVe  have 
no  fires  of  martyrdom  now  to  test  our  fidelity  to 
Jesus  Christ ;  but  we  are  not  left  without  a  test.  God  is  testing  us  all  continually  as  to 
the  measure  of  our  PAiTK,  love,  and  dkvotedness  to  His  ^o^  by  the  presence  of  otfi^ 
THOUSAND  MILLIONS  OF  HEATHEN  IN  THE  WORLD.  Jt  is  a  tremendous  test ;  so  real,  so 
practical!     Gifts  that  cost  us  no  personal  self-denial  are  no  proof  of  devoted  ness." 

THE  STORY  OF  MARIA  PEABODY. 

"Of  a  truth  I  say  unto  you,  that  this  .  .  .  liath  cast  in  more  than  they  all  ;  for  all  th.se  have  of 
their  abundance  cast  in  unto  the  offerings  of  God  ;  but  she  of  her  penury  hath  cast  in  all  .  .  .  that  she 
had." — 6t.  Luke  xxi.  3,  4. 

In  the  beautiful  island  of  Ceylon,  many  years  ago,  the  native  Christians,  who  had 
long  worshipped  in  bungalows  and  old  Datch  chapels,  decided  that  they  must  have 
a  church  built  for  themselves.  Enthusiastic  givers  were  exch  eager  to  forward  the 
new  enterprise.  But  to  the  amazement  of  all,  Maria  Peabody,  a  lone  orphan  girl, 
who  had  been  a  beneficiary  in  the  girls'  schools  at  Oodooville,  came  forward  and 
offered  to  give  the  land  upon  which  to  build,  which  was  the  bast  site  in  her  native 
village. 

Not  only  was  it  all  she  ovvned  m  this  world,  but,  far  more,  it  was  her  marriage 
portion,  and  in  making  this  gift,  in  the  eyes  of  every  native,  she  renounced  all  hopes 


Noble  Self-denial.  169 

of  being  married.  As  this  alternative  in  the  East  was  regarded  as  an  awful  step, 
many  thought  her  beside  herself,  and  tried  to  dissuade  her  from  such  an  act  of 
renunciation.  "No,"  said  Maria ;  "I  have  given  it  to  Jesus,  and  as  He  has 
accepted  it,  you  must."  And  so  to-day  the  first  Christian  church  in  Ceylon  (the  first 
chapel  built  by  natives)  stands  upon  land  given  by  a  poor  orphan  girl. 

The  deed  was  noised  abroad,  and  came  to  the  knowledge  of  a  young  theological 
student,  who  was  also  a  beneficiary  of  the  mission,  and  it  touched  his  heart.  Neither 
could  he  rest,  until  he  had  sought  and  won  the  rare  and  noble  maiden  who  was 
willing  to  give  up  so  much  in  her  Master's  cause.* 

Some  one  in  the  United  States  had  been  for  years  contributing  twenty  dollars 
annually  for  the  support  of  this  young  Hindu  girl,  but  the  donor  was  unknown.  The 
Rev.  Dr.  Poor,  a  missionary  in  Ceyljn,  visiting  America  about  that  time,  longed  to 
ascertain  who  was  the  faithful  sower,  and  report  the  wonderful  harvest.  Finding 
himself  in  Hanover,  N.H.,  preaching  to  the  students  at  Dartmouth  College,  he 
happened  in  conversation  to  hear  some  one  speak  of  Mrs.  Peabody,  and  repeated, 
"  Peabody ;  what  Peabody  ?  "  "  Mrs.  Maria  Peabody,  who  resides  here — the  widow 
of  a  former  processor,"  was  the  answer.  "  Oh  !  I  must  see  her  before  I  leave,"  said 
the  earnest  man,  about  to  continue  his  journey.  The  first  words  after  an  introduction 
at  her  house,  were  :  •'  I  have  come  to  bring  you  a  glad  report ;  for  I  cannot  but  think 
that  it  is  to  you  we  in  Ceylon  owe  the  opportunity  of  educating  one  who  has  proved 
as  lovely  and  consistent  a  native  convert  as  we  have  ever  had.  She  is  exceptionally 
interesting,  devotedly  pious,  and  bears  your  name." 

"  Alas  !  "  said  the  lady,  "  although  the  girl  bears  my  name,  I  wish  I  could  claim  the 
honour  of  educating  her ;  it  belongs  not  to  me,  but  to  Louisa  Osborne,  my  poor 
coloured  cook.  Some  years  ago  in  Salem,  Mass.,  she  carne  to  me  after  an  evening 
meeting,  saying  :  '  1  have  just  heard  that  if  anybody  would  give  twenty  dollars  a  year, 
they  could  support  and  educate  a  child  in  Ceylon,  and  I  have  decided  to  do  it.  They 
say  that  along  with  the  money  I  can  send  a  name  ;  and  I  have  come,  mistress,  to  ask 
you  if  you  would  object  to  my  sending  yours.'  "  At  that  time,'"  continued  the  lady, 
"a  servant's  wages  ranged  from  a  dollar  to  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  week,  yet  my  cook 
had  for  a  long  tmie  been  contributing  half  a  dollar  each  month  at  the  monthly  concert 
for  foreign  missions.  There  were  those  who  expostulated  with  her  for  giving  away  so 
much  for  one  in  her  circumstances,  as  a  time  might  come  when  she  could  not  earn. 
'  I  have  thought  it  all  over,'  she  would  reply,  '  and  concluded  I  would  rather  give 
what  I  can  while  I  am  earning,  and  then  if  I  lose  my  health  and  cannot  work,  why, 
there  is  the  poor-house,  and  I  can  go  there.  You  see  they  have  no  poor-house  in 
heathen  lands,  for  it  is  only  Christians  who  care  for  the  poor.'  "  In  telling  this  story, 
Dr.  Poor  used  to  pause  at  this  point,  and  exclaim  :  ''  To  the  poor-house  !  Do  you 

*  This  young  man,  after  completing  his  theological  studies,  was  stationed,  with  his  wife,  in  a  di'itrict 
called  Alaverlty.  At  that  time  nearly  all  the  people  in  that  district  were  idolaters.  Now  in  that 
district  there  is  a  church  with  forty  members,  an  inquirer's  class,  a  large  Sabbath  school,  and  five  or 
six  village  day-schools  with  several  hundreds  of  children  in  attendance,  to  whom  the  Bible  lessons  are 
regularly  taught.  This  change,  through  God's  blessing,  has  largely  resulted  from  the  efforts  of  these 
two  consecrated  Christians. 

N 


170  "  I  guess  it  was  my  Lord  Jesus." 

believe  God  would  ever  let  that  good  woman  die  in  the  poor-house?     Never  !  "     We 
shall  see. 

The  missionary  learned  that  the  last  known  of  Louisa  Osborne  was  that  she  was 
lesiding  in  Lowell,  Mass.  In  due  time  his  duties  called  him  to  that  city.  At  the 
close  of  an  evening  service  before  a  crowded  house,  he  related  among  missionary 
incidents,  as  a  crowning  triumph,  the  story  of  Louisa  Osborne  and  Maria  Peabody. 
The  disinterested  devotion,  self-sacrifice,  and  implicit  faith  and  zeal  of  ;he  Christian 
giver  in  favoured  America  has  been  developed,  matured,  and  well-nigh  eclipsed,  by 
her  faithful  protegee  in  far-off  benighted  India  His  heart  glowing  with  zeal,  and 
deeply  stirred  by  the  fresh  retro.-pect  of  the  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  over  hea- 
thenism, he  exclaimed,  "If  there  is  any  one  present  who  knows  anything  of  that 
good  woman,  Louisa  Osborne,  and  will  lead  me  to  her,  I  shall  be  greatly  obliged." 
The  benediction  pronounced  and  the  crowd  dispersing,  Dr.  Poor  passed  down  one 
of  the  aisles,  chatting  with  the  pastor,  when  he  espied  a  quiet  little  figure  apparendy 
waiting  for  him.  Could  it  be  her?  Yes,  it  was  a  coloured  woman,  and  it  must  be 
Louisj  Osborne.  With  quickened  steps  he  reached  her,  exclaiming  in  tones  of 
suppressed  emotion,  "  I  believe  this  is  iny  sister  in  Christ,  Louisa  Osborne  1 " 
"  That  is  my  name."  was  the  calm  reply.  "  Well,  God  bless  you,  Louisa  ;  you  have 
heard  my  report,  and  know  all ;  but  beiore  we  part,  probably  never  to  meet  again  in 
this  world,  I  want  you  to  answer  me  one  question.  What  made  you  do  it?"  With 
downcast  eyes,  and  in  a  low  and  trembling  voice,  she  replied,  "  Well,  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  guess  it  was  my  Lord  Jesus." 

They  parted  only  to  meet  in  the  streets  of  the  Ne-LU  Jerusalem  ;  for  the  missionary 
returned  to  hs  adopted  home,  where,  ere  long,  the  loving  hands  of  his  faithful 
native  brethren  bore  him  to  his  honoured  grave  The  humble  handmaiden  of  the 
Lord  laboured  meekly  on  a  while,  and  is  ending  her  failing  da^s,  not  in  a  poorhouse, 
verilv.  but,  through  the  eflorts  of  those  who  knew  her  best,  in  a  pleasant,  comfortable 
Old  Ladies'  Home.     "  Him  that  honoureth  Me,  I  will  honour." 

The  seal  of  Calvin,  one  of  the  great  apostles  of  the  Reformation,  represents  a 
hand  holding  a  burning  heart,  illustrative  of  his  life-principle  :  "  I  give  thee  all ;  I 
keep  back  nothing  for  myself."  Centuries  afterward,  two  humble  followers  of  the 
Master  caught  a  kindred  inspiration  from  the  same  divine  source.  Shall  we,  to  whom 
so  much  of  privilege  and  bounty  is  granted,  lay  down  this  marvellous  story  of  self, 
renunciation,  and  let  its  lesson  be  lost  on  our  own  lives? 

"  Unto  whomsoever  much  is  given,  of  him  shall  be  much  required."     (Luke  xii.  48. 


TELUSXEES 

OK 

tTa-ffna.    College:    Fixnds 

IN   THE 

W.  H.  Wilcox,  D.  D.,  President. 

N.  G.  Clark,  D.  D.,  Secretary. 

C.  H.  Warner,  Treasurer. 
T.  H.  Russell,  C.  T.  Russell,  Jr.. 

S.  D.  Smith,  A.  H.  Hardy. 

Remittances  for  the  College  or  Medical  Mission  may  be  sent  to  C.   H.  Warner, 
Treasurer,  Bank  of  Commerce,  Boston,  Mass. 


Forrri   of   Beqiiest. 

/  bequeath  to  the  Jaffna   College,''   Ceylon,   the  sum   of 

$  : free  of  duty,  to  be  paid  out  of  that  part 

of  my  personal  Estate  which  by  law  may  be  effectually  given  for  the 
benefit  of  the  said  JAFFNA  COLLEGE,''  and  for  which  sum  the  receipt 
of  the  Treasurer  for  the  time  being  shall  be  a  sufficient  discharge. 

[Three  Witnesses.] 

*lfitis  desired  that  the  Legacy   be   applied    toward   the    Gnicral  Medical  Mission   in 
connection  with  the  Jaffna  College,  these  words  should  be  used  in  place  of  "Jaffna  College." 


THE  JAFFNA  COLLEGE, 

AND 

GENERAL  MEDICAL  MISSION  IN  NORTH  CEYLON, 


IRefcrecs  in  Great  Britain. 


The  Rt.  Hon.  the  Earl  of  Abekdeen. 

The  Rt.  Hon.  the  Lord  Kinnaird. 

The  Rt.  Hon.  the  Lord  Polwarth. 

Edward  Crossley,  Esq.,  M.P. 

Rev.  H.  Grattan  Guinness,  F.R  G.S. 

J.  E.  Mathieson,  Esq. 

J.  L.  Maxwell,  Esq.,  M.D. 

W.  T.  Paton    Esq. 


Rev.  Nevill  Sherbrooke. 

Rev.  Frank  White. 

J.  Campbell  "White,  Esq. 

George  Williams,  Esq. 

The  Dowager  Countess  Cairns. 

Lady  Victoria  Buxton. 

Mrs.  H.  Grattan  Guinness. 

Mrs.  Stephen  Menzies. 


E^inburab  aunUar\?  Committee. 

C/iairmau— S\r  William  Muik,  K.CS.I.,  LL.I.>.,  D  C.L. 
Honorary  Secretary  and  Treasurer — George  C.  Maclean,  Esq.,  4,  Dean  Park  Crescent,  Edinburgh. 


Rev.  Armstrong  Black. 

Rev.  Henry  Duncan. 

Rev.  Chari.es  R.  Teape,  Ph.D. 

Rev  Andrew  Thomson,  D  D. 

Rev.  Alexander  Whyte,  D.D. 

Rev.  George  Wilson. 

Robert  SiM.^oN,  Esq.,  ILM.B  C.S. 

J.  Di;ncan  .Smith,  E-q.,  S.S.C. 

Major-GenLral  F.  Nepean  Smith 


Mrs.  Duncan. 
Miss  Hunter. 
Miss  Mackenzie. 
Mrs.  Macrae. 
Mrs.  Millar. 
Mrs.  SiMSON. 
Mrs.  Smith. 
Mrs.  Stuart. 
Mrs.  Whitson. 


llDonorari^  Collectors.  \  /^  ^g^^C-^ 

The  Misses  M.  and  M.  W.  Leitch,  co  S.  Stanton,  Esq.,  17,  Souihampton  Row,  London,  W.C. 

3Banf?ers. 

Messrs.  Barclay,  Bevan,  Trition,  Ran.som,  Bouvekie  &  Co.,  i,  Pal)  Mall  East,  Lomion. 
The  Bank  of  Scotland,  Edinburgh. 

BuMtors. 

Artiur  [.  Hill,  Vellacott  &  Co.,  Chartered  Accountant.s,  i,  Finsl)ury  Circus,  London,  E.C. 


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